Gary Gustafson

Clear Lake, Minnesota
Gary Gustafson Expert Witness
Curriculum Vitae

Publications

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Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

General Specialties:

Motorcycle and Failure Analysis

Keywords/Search Terms:

Accident Reconstruction, All Terrain Vehicle, UTV, Side by Side, Electrical Engineer, Throttle Design, Dealership, Snowmobile, Power Steering, Consultant, Fire, Electronics, Accessory, Rollover, Polaris, Ranger, Speed Sensor, Root Cause Analysis, Trade Practices, Patent, Arctic Cat, Trademark, ATV

Education:

Electronics Technology, Minnesota State

Years in Practice:

6

Number of Times Deposed/Testified in Last 4 Yrs:

2

Additional Information

30+ years with an exceptionally broad and deep range of experience with ATVs, UTVs, Side-by-Sides, snowmobiles and motorcycles including: Off-road vehicle product failure and root cause analysis, accident reconstruction, product design, dealership vs OEM vs consumer liability, competitive analysis, intellectual property development, vehicle diagnostics, market research in vehicles, components, technology and accessories for global brands and startups. 11 years of employment at Polaris working on the Ranger UTV and Sportsman ATV platforms. A founding contributor to the Polaris Development Process. One of the original inventors of the Ride Command and Active Descent Control systems as well as making contributions to electronics at Yamaha, BRP and Arctic Cat. Consulting and Expert Witness defense clients have included Mahindra, Robert Bosch Corp, Textron, Arctic Cat, General Dynamics, Johnson Controls and Yamaha. Plaintiff experience in many rollover and fire cases. Active consulting practice in off-road vehicle regulatory compliance, off-road vehicle safety and design standards, primary market research, product planning, product development and sales both into the dealer channel and B2B. 6 United States patents relating to various electronic systems on ATVs, UTVs and Snowmobiles. Expert at root cause analysis of product failures. Expert in trade practices. A keen understanding of the UTV market, nuances in technologies, dealer channel development, and competitive factors. Expert at analysis of designs on motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, side-by-sides and snowmobiles including: steering systems, throttle levers, throttle pedals, lighting, wire harness, wiring, winches, engine control systems, sensors, runaway vehicles, fires, overheating, electric vehicle powertrains, batteries, rollovers, rider behavior, switches. I use diagnostic tools to aid with root cause analysis, data capture and accident reconstruction. Decades of experience in developing blueprints and other specifications and can interpret them at an expert level. I have developed technology for dozens of OEMs and tier 1 suppliers and can readily identify alternative designs to flawed ones that were implemented.