Despite Quality Improvements Across the Industry, Overall Boat Owner Satisfaction Remains Unchanged

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1 Reports: Bass Cat, Cobalt, Correct Craft, Grady-White, Manitou, MasterCraft and Regal Throttle Ahead of the Competition in New-Boat Owner Satisfaction Despite Quality Improvements Across the Industry, Overall Boat Owner Satisfaction Remains Unchanged MIAMI: 14 February 2008 Bass Cat, Cobalt, Correct Craft, Grady-White, Manitou, MasterCraft and Regal each rank highest in new-boat owner satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Boat Competitive Information Study SM released today at the Miami International Boat Show. Now in its seventh year, the study examines the sales, service and product experience of new-boat owners. Owner satisfaction with new boats is measured in seven segments: ski/wakeboard; fiberglass bass boats; small runabouts (16 to 19 feet); large runabouts (20 to 29 feet); coastal fishing (17 to 30 feet); pontoons; and express cruisers (24 to 33 feet). Overall customer satisfaction index scores are based on performance in eight factors: cabin; engine; ride and handling; helm and instrument panel; design and styling; sound system; water sports; and fishing. 1 Bass boat segment Bass Cat ranks highest in the bass boat segment for a fourth consecutive year, performing particularly well in each of the five factors that determine overall satisfaction: ride and handling; fishing; design and styling; engine, and helm and instrument panel. The company also receives the highest overall index score in the study for a third consecutive year. Following Bass Cat in the segment are Ranger and Triton, respectively. Coastal fishing segment (17 to 30 feet) For a seventh consecutive reporting year, Grady-White ranks highest in the segment, performing particularly well in four of the six factors driving overall satisfaction: fishing; ride and handling; design and styling; and helm and instrument panel. Grady-White also has the fewest reported problems of any manufacturer in the segment. Boston Whaler and Triton, respectively, follow Grady-White in the segment rankings. Express cruiser segment (24 to 33 feet) Making steady improvement in the study for the past three years, Regal ranks highest among express cruisers for a second consecutive year. Regal performs particularly well in ride and handling, which is the greatest driver of overall satisfaction. Sea Ray follows Regal in the express cruiser segment rankings. Small runabout segment (16 to 19 feet) For a third consecutive year, Regal ranks highest in the small runabout segment, performing particularly well in all six factors that drive overall satisfaction: engine; water sports; design and styling; ride and handling; helm and instrument panel; and sound system. Regal also has the fewest reported problems of any manufacturer in the segment. Sea Ray and Chaparral, respectively, follow Regal in the small runabout segment. Large runabout segment (20 to 29 feet) 1 Not all segments include every factor. (Page 1 of 2)

2 Cobalt ranks highest in the large runabout segment for a seventh consecutive reporting year, performing particularly well in all six factors that drive overall satisfaction. Cobalt owners report having the highest satisfaction with the buying experience at a dealership and are also the most likely to say they definitely will recommend and repurchase from their dealer compared with customers of other manufacturers in the large runabout segment. Regal closely follows Cobalt while Four Winns ranks third in the segment. Pontoon segment Manitou ranks highest among pontoon manufacturers, performing particularly well in ride and handling. Manitou is closely followed in the segment by Bennington, while Harris FloteBote and Premier tie to rank third in the segment. Pontoons in particular have come a long way as far as advancements in features and technologies, said Todd Markusic, senior director of the powersports practice at Usage of technologies such as satellite radio and MP3 players has steadily increased since Additionally, the average horsepower of pontoons has increased steadily as well. Pontoons are certainly reaching a new level of sophistication. Ski/wakeboard segment Correct Craft and MasterCraft tie to rank highest in the ski/wakeboard segment. The 2008 study also marks the sixth consecutive reporting year that Correct Craft has received the highest ranking in the segment. MasterCraft is the only brand in the ski/wakeboard segment to improve in overall satisfaction since 2007, while Correct Craft performs particularly well in engine satisfaction. Malibu follows Correct Craft and MasterCraft in the highly competitive segment. Industry Findings The study also examines boat quality, in which performance is measured as problems per 100 (PP100) boats and lower scores reflect higher quality. Overall quality across the boating industry is 287 PP100 in 2008, marking an improvement of 4 PP100 from the 2007 study. Additionally, quality has improved substantially since the 2005 study. Boating manufacturers have done well in improving quality year over year, particularly in light of current conditions across the industry, said Markusic. Despite the decline in sales over the past few years, many manufacturers are still improving their manufacturing processes they understand the importance of delivering a product with zero problems to their customers. It is essential that a brand delivers on all aspects of the ownership experience product, sales and service in order to satisfy its customers. At the segment level, while most boating segments have demonstrated improvements in quality since 2007, both the small and large runabout segments experienced declines, with the small runabout segment experiencing the most considerable drop in quality. More than 40 percent of reported problems in the small runabout segment concern the engine and propulsion, which is primarily driven by the high concentration of four-stroke carbureted sterndrive engines, said Markusic. Outside of the small runabout segment, only 15 percent of sterndrives have carbureted technology. However, within the small runabout segment, 80 percent of the sterndrive engines are carbureted. Considering the high penetration of carbureted engines which on average add 57 PP100 to a brand s score it s easy to understand why this segment receives such poor quality scores. The study also finds the following new-boat owner behavior trends: In 2008, 68 percent of new-boat owners took their boat to a service facility. Among them, more than 80 percent took their boat back to their dealer while nearly 20 percent received service at a non-dealer

3 facility. Owners who received service at the dealer were more satisfied, on average, than those who visited a non-dealer facility. The percentage of owners who report that the dealer personnel was the key reason for selecting their boat brand is 34 percent up from 30 percent in 2005, indicating that the dealer is becoming increasingly influential in the sales process. In 2008, 74 percent of owners report experiencing a problem with their new boat, while 26 percent say they have not experienced a problem. Owners who report experiencing no problems are 68 percent more likely to repurchase the same boat brand in the future than boaters who did experience a problem with their new boat. Thirty-nine percent of new-boat owners report that engine technology played a major role in their purchase decision, which is up from 34 percent in the 2005 study, suggesting that advancements in engine technology are steadily contributing to the decision making process among owners. The 2008 Boat Competitive Information Study is based on responses from 9,718 owners who registered a new boat between June 2006 and May The study was fielded from September to November About J.D. Power and Associates Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on boat ratings, car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies. About The McGraw-Hill Companies Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor s, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion. Additional information is available at J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts: John Tews Syvetril Perryman Troy, Mich. Westlake Village, Calif. (248) (805) john.tews@jdpa.com syvetril.perryman@jdpa.com No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of # # # (Page 3 of 3) NOTE: Seven charts follow.

4 Bass Boat Segment Bass Cat 935 Ranger 892 Triton 872 Bass Boat Segment Average 870 Skeeter 865 Stratos 842 NOTE: Nitro is included in the study, but not ranked due to small sample size.

5 Coastal Fishing Segment Grady-White 886 Boston Whaler 868 Triton 856 Sailfish 846 Triumph 840 Scout 837 Century 831 Sea Hunt 819 Pro-Line 818 Coastal Fishing Segment Average Key West Seaswirl 786 Trophy 777 Sea Fox 772 Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are: Angler, Hydra-Sports, Polar, Sea Pro and Wellcraft.

6 Express Cruiser Segment Regal 871 Sea Ray 802 Express Cruiser Segment Average 801 Chaparral 797 Bayliner 764 Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are: Formula, Four Winns and Rinker.

7 Small Runabout Segment Regal 880 Sea Ray 826 Chaparral 787 Four Winns 780 Glastron 778 Stingray 770 Small Runabout Segment Average 761 Bayliner 733 Tahoe 732 Maxum 731 Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are: Larson and Monterey.

8 Large Runabout Segment Cobalt 901 Regal 896 Four Winns 833 Crownline 831 Chaparral 827 Large Runabout Segment Average 821 Sea Ray 819 Monterey 810 Rinker 802 Larson 784 Bayliner 766 Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are: Baja, Formula, Maxum, Stingray and Tahoe.

9 Pontoon Segment Manitou 840 Bennington 831 Harris FloteBote 821 Premier 821 Aqua Patio 813 Crest 809 Sweetwater 805 G3 Sun Catcher 802 Pontoon Segment Average 800 Sedona 799 Lowe Suncruiser 786 Crestliner 782 Bentley 772 Included in the study but not ranked due to small sample size are: Avalon, Parti Kraft, Princecraft, Sanpan, South Bay, Starcraft, SunChaser, SunTracker and Tahoe.

10 Ski/Wakeboard Segment Correct Craft 900 MasterCraft 900 Malibu 884 Ski/Wakeboard Segment Average 879 Tigé 862 Supra 857 Moomba 825