Marion Spurgeon, president of the Muscat Corp., was making the Mascara snowmobile and the six-wheel Muskateer. In 1970, he quit that and began making the Diplomat and Rascal snowmobiles in his garage in Excelsior, MN. The sleds were mainly available through Farmers Union Co-ops and some were purchased by the Minnesota DNR.
No production numbers are available, but his daughter, Debbie Nelson, said he built approximately 25 of them. At the beginning of 1970 the snowmobile market was flooded and sales were poor.
In 1971 and 1972, Marion introduced the Diplomat 300 and 440. This machine is a 400 cc, CCW engine, the deluxe model. It also has a new rail suspension and adjustable headlight, a speedometer, tachometer, primer and an emergency kill switch. The 1972 models also offered a choice of blue or gold metal flake. •