Re: ot/ please help

Posted by ScottyHOMEy on November 01, 2007 at 17:52:15 from (71.241.212.142):

In Reply to: ot/ please help posted by D17 man on November 01, 2007 at 14:26:12:

I've been keeping an eye here, and (with the exception of a couple of wise cracks) think folks have given you some pretty good advice. I'll throw in a couple of other thoughts and then butt out.

As far as writing a paper with a bias, I'd say don't. That's the academic in me talking. Research is research and facts are facts. You can't close your argument by saying that in spite of the facts you are right -- you'd only be defying logic. Be honest about it, is I guess the biggest point I want to make to you. And an honest argument will address evidence that is in the other direction. I'll say again, that you could begin by pointing out that Deere is the biggest one left standing, but that it wasn't always so; that, to me, would make a good paper.

A paper with that argument (and this should appeal to your aim) would focus on the 30 years fom the introduction of the Farmall Regular up through the end of the letter series (1924-1954), where it could be reasonably argued that IH was leading the pack. The others made very good tractors during that time, but IH in its heyday had a formidable marketing department and was often first to find out what the farmers needed and wanted and see that it got built, or persuaded the farmers that they needed and wanted what IH was making. The others during those years were often just trying to keep up with them.

Look back over the other responses again, and think, too, about what makes a better tractor. There are differing ideas about that. To my mind, reliability would be the number one consideration, as I expect it would be for any of the folks that relied, unlike myself, on their machines for their living. But IH, Deere, A/C, Oliver, Case, Ford, MM and others all made solid machines that you could count on to run. At that point, as some have pointed out, the comfort of the seat or the availability of air conditioning in the cab, became the selling points. Were they "better" tractors because of the air conditioning? Some folks think so. And don't forget that the beginning of the undoing of IH was their failure in the reliability area, when they tried to put 6-cylinder power onto rear-ends designed for 4-cylinders in the 460 and 560. Disastrous!

Like I said earlier about the pickup wars, the balance shifted regularly, and in the case of the tractors, if you want to make the IH-over-Deere argument, focus on a period when it was true.

Good luck! And let us know how you make out!

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