I'm looking for opinions on the reliability of the new 2001 Evinrude Ficht outboards (3.3 litre v-6 EPA 2006 compliant). Seems like there are lots of concerns here--OMC bankruptcy, uncertainity about the future of Evinrude support and warranties, all the Ficht problems beginning with intro in 1997, 1 year delay in intro of the EPA 2006 compliant models due to development problems, to name a few. However, some dealers are offering warranties underwritten by outfits such as First Protection Corp and there are some great deals out there right now, as you might expect. But, a warranty's no good if parts aren't readily available and even if support continues, a motor that eats a piston or two every 100 hours or so, as I've heard from some Ficht owners, is not a good deal regardless of price and warranty. Anybody got any ideas on this Evinrude situation? Thanks, Nickle
