Several have hit good ideas.
Me as a dealer, participant, fabricator and racer, I get to see it from many different angles.
As a dealer, the manufacturers need to realize that they need to support their dealers more now than ever before. As mentioned by others, this is partially a transition sport. Many that are crossing over, are used to either bikes that stand up to much more abuse, or 4X4s that are more user friendly. Dealers are having to absorb more and more to keep their customers happy. Profit margins are no where near as high as many think. And everytime a manufacturer comes out with a new model, suddenly all the previous models are obsolete and dealer are stuck with selling them at losses or near losses. Can't stay in business that way. (Aggressive dealers are becoming the norm now, if you want to survive, you better be ready to make great deals and take losses in areas).
As a participant, more friendly events are key to exposing people to what UTVs can do. I had been involved with UTVs for fun and trail rides, but until I attended my first Rally On The Rocks, I never knew what they were capable of. Dean Bulloch taught me to rock crawl like I had never thought possible. Kudos to those that put on these events, you are a life-blood to the rest. And each time UTV Off Road Magazine, or UTVGuide orthe biggest of them, UTVUnderground, covers one of these events, I see more and more people want to be involved. I always have sales spikes right after ROTRs.
As a racer, more local and regional events that are affordable. Dirt Riot puts on one of the best "Bang for the buck" races out there. For $100, and with a reasonably safe UTV, you can have a race that will test you and be tons of fun. I would like to see ths same concept expanded to short-course, perhaps at local levels at 1/4 mile sprint car race tracks. Many can be built up to accommodate this without much trouble.
National level racing is always great to watch or read about in the forums and mags, but for the average Joe, means nothing. Unless you have lots of money and great logistical support, you chances of doing great get whittled down fast. That's why I give huge props to guys like Cory Sappington when they do good. In the old days, we referred to these guys as privateers (no true big name sponsors, they did it all in house).
As for fabricators, that is a dog-eat-dog world. There are some big names out there that build awesome rigs. Magnum, SDR, UTVInc, TMW and more. But it's an emerging art that inspires many to customize or buildup their machines. Now if only some of the manufacturers would take more notice and build machines that are strong bases for buildups. Often, this is the best way to get a customer and his machine matched and capable of their driving conditions and style.
Joey, you, Troy Merrifield, Jon Crowley and a few others are in positions to drive this industry ahead. Remember that it's awesome to see RJ launch a RZR XP1K thru insane stunts, but the average guy wants to know how to build a trail capable rig. The guy that can only afford the used Rhino needs to know how to make that machine perform as a decent trail rig. They all need to know how to drive, how to make their machines survive and thrive. They need a "Popular Mechanics" of the UTV World. How to's are always great. The big name fab outfits are reserved for those with 20-40G to throw at a machine. But most guys, would rather build or buy a used 4400 car for bashing the rocks or a used Sandrail for jump the dunes, than spend 40G on a UTV (or as some would say, a Golf Cart).
Point is, it will take many things to make the industry thrive and grow. And it will take all of us to pull together to keep our lands open and promote the industry in a positive light. Police ourselves and not put UTVing in a bad light. Keep a positive attitude about all manufactured brands and work together to promote events that highlight what these machines can do.
