My next door neighbor has an older Deere riding mower, about 18 HP. He's had to do frequent engine work on it and finally decided to take the hood off altogether and drive it without a hood. The thing's an eyesore, but I guess he now has a fairly modern unstyled John Deere tractor.It got me thinking. The auto companies have been making retro, nostalgic cars for a few years, such as the modern VW bug, the T-bird, the PT Cruiser, and now the Mustang. They look a lot like the old, original cars of a previous era, but they are completely modern. So why doesn't John Deere come out with a retro unstyled A, for example, that looks a lot like the 1930s model, but with a modern design, a horizontal 2 cylinder diesel engine, hydraulics, wide front, etc.? It could be quite popular. The other companies could do the same, perhaps introducing a modern, state-of-the-art tractor that looks like a Farmall M or F-30 or an Allis Chalmers WC. Also, all of the late model tractors today have streamlined, aerodynamic hoods. I've never undrstood why this is necessary since they don't run at Talledega and Darlington on Sunday afternoons.
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