Income from Financial Services (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Schedule of Investment Income, Reported Amounts, by Category [Line Items]
Income from financial services	$ 24,092	$ 16,856	$ 17,071
Polaris Acceptance
Schedule of Investment Income, Reported Amounts, by Category [Line Items]
Income from financial services	4,444	4,574	4,021
Securitization Facility
Schedule of Investment Income, Reported Amounts, by Category [Line Items]
Income from financial services	7,686	8,027	9,559
HSBC, GE Bank and Sheffield retail credit agreements
Schedule of Investment Income, Reported Amounts, by Category [Line Items]
Income from financial services	9,056	2,422	1,090
Other financial services activities
Schedule of Investment Income, Reported Amounts, by Category [Line Items]
Income from financial services	$ 2,906	$ 1,833	$ 2,401