Archive through September 08, 2010

[aschumacher]

Melody, that thing on the front is like a push bar on a police car. Used to push dead JD's, etc off to the side so a REAL(Cub)

tractor can work !

 

[mstetar]

that thing is garbage... i cant believe they didn't at least make the thing retro looking... those buble front ends look supremely stupid in my book...

 

[hsell]

Hello, Been reading all the comments about the new 50th anniversary tractor and will give my 2 cents. I saw the 50th at the dealer show and it is a very beefed up tractor... I like it very much and think they did a good job on the color scheme also.. I am not guessing from seeing a picture I saw it first hand......go cub cadet

 

[bseverns]

If one of the aftermarket parts vendors came out with a replacement metal hood for the cub cadets with plastic hoods, they could make a killing on them.
I already had to have the one on my '09 2550 replaced, it broke out at its mounting points. At least it was still under waranty. Make mine retro please!

 

[hsimon]

Just talked witbh the chairman of the 2011 Red Power Power and they would like 500 plus Cub Cadets at the show.

 

[pbell]

Hugh,
Ask him about driving around the show grounds on a Cub Cadet, I'm curious to see if the answer is different than what was talked about during the national IHCC Membership meeting at last years RPRU.

 

[adonohue]

that 50th anniversary "cub cadet", yuk. they could have come out with something that looks like a IH cub cadet, it would have been much better. better yet, produce a limited production run of real garden tractors. you know the kind with a cast iron transaxle, cast iron engine, heavy duty frames. why not a limited production run of cub cadets like they should be. that 50th anniversary model has more plastic than a model airplane. that thing is terrible.

i dont know, i respect IH cub cadets and even some of the ccc's, but when mtd fully intergrated cub cadet into their product line it became terrible. gone forever are the machines that most of us love. john deere is no different. i also own a john deere 112, its a wonderful little tractor and has worked hard for me. i have mowed feild grass with it and ran the snot out of the 37a blower through the deepest, nastiest snow on the planet running it in the some of the coldest temperatures. that old peerless cast iron transaxle has never given me any trouble. seems like the harder you work these tractors, the more they like. i go to the john deere store to buy parts and i see very little that interests me. a bunch of cheap plastic. my wife says, oh they are so pretty. i see only junk.

i havent had a chance to work the cadet yet, but i just got her. she's a 1970 147 and she's going to make a great addition to my 2 acre lawn mowing, and maybe even some snow throwing.

i also noticed that on the 50 year timeline, they show very little of the IH cub cadets on that timeline. i wonder why? mtd would rather people forget about the great IH cub cadets. they care nothing about "heritage", which is why the 50th anniversary model doesnt look retro. they would assume people forget about the older machines becuase they were built so much better.

i dont even like to use the word heritage because the real cub cadet were produced by international harivester, a real tractor company. modern "cub cadets" are produced by mtd, a junk producing box store lawnmower company.

cub cadet died in 1981, RIP

i wish john deere would produce a retro 140 or 112, that would be cool. at least john deere is still produced by a agriculture tractor company, even if the newer machines arent what the older machines used to be

 

[jchamberlin]

All - I'm with Brian regarding the plastic hoods: it is the main reason why I would not consider buying a newer Cub Cadet. The hoods have already faded on the units displayed outside in my area (North Carolina). Functionally, I suppose its a small matter, but it is a big turn-off for me.

 

[bseverns]

I may consider trading if it looks like a better model than my 2550. Another thing I don't like is the deck. The area around the spindles above the blades is open and a large amount of the clippings pile up on top of the deck . You have to keep it cleaned out or soon you smell burning grass or take a chance at throwing a belt. For this reason I want to see what the decks look like on the 50th year model with the manufactured decks. I like the way my '09 rides/drives but I see lots of work to keep it working in my future.

 

[jstevens]

Lets face it folks! It doesn't matter who's name is on the tractor these days, NO ONE will ever make a TRUE garden tractor! Everyone wants all this new technoligy to fly around their yard, cut the grass as quick as possible, and go on to do other things. People look at you funny these days if you mention you'd rather stay home and tend to your garden. After all, why spend your time to grow your own veggies when you can buy them at the local supermarket? you cant blame MTD for this, they build what the masses want. For the rest of us, there's the old IH garden tractors. Besides, do we really want MTD to build something that most people today would have no want, need, or even idea how to use?

 

[adonohue]

i still think mtd should produce a tractor that looks like a real garden tractor. it should be limited run. build something that shows that mtd remembers what got them where they are today(cub cadet name -IH). when they produce their adverting lit, there is very litte mention of the IH cub cadets, probably the greatest garden tractor in history.

 

[wshytle]

I don't think MTD could ever build a garden tractor period. Their minds are on saving money any way they can and they can't make a machine to withstand years of work in the lawn and garden as long as they think this way. A good example is shortly after they took over they went to a 4 bolt wheel instead of a five and started putting plastic everywhere. Tractors are a machine needing weight for what they do.

Jon-

I think people will/have started gardening more nowadays simply because of the price of food. For this reason I feel that when we start out of this recession the prices on older, dependable tractors will once again be back where they should. The MTDs will be out in the woods rusting away as they should be.

That brings up one more thought. The cheap crap MTD puts out now won't last long because the metal is so thin it will rust away in no time unlike our cubs. What I'm saying is the thin metal on a cub outlasts the thick metal on a MTD. There will be no MTD restorations and this is a good thing.

 

[adonohue]

im glad someone finally feels as i do. mtd can be blamed for ruining the garden tractor as we know it. they ruined bolens, completely. look at an old fmc bolens, like a husky for example, compare that to a new boles, oh wait, they no longer even produce garden tractors just little lawn tractors, cheap and disposable, sad isnt it. everyone wants to be like MTD for some reason as well. they can even be blamed for john deere cheapening up. john deere just followed the industry which unfortantly is led by MTD since they now own almost everything.

that cub cadet anniversary model has more plastic on it than a lego set. it even looks like a kid made it out of legos.

as far as people not needing true garden tractors, im not sure about that. dont people need/want powerful, compact work tractors that can do everything from mowing, to heavy snow removal with optional tillers? something that will last 40 or more years?

the problem stems from the society we live in. everyone wants instant gradification and to buy things cheap. 10 years is considered acceptable lifespan, that is really sad. both of my machines are over 40 years old this year and they both have many years left in them.

mtd slaps the cub cadet name on everything including leaf blowers, weed wackers, and cheap push mowers. i dont even think people know what cub cadet means. see, IH produced a line of small farm tractors. they called these farmall cubs. they then produced a small tractor called the cub cadet. the "cadet" was smalled than the cub but still a serous tractor. it angers me to see the name on everything imaginable.

what i really wanted to see was MTD honor the history of the name. take a classic like a 129, an original, or a 147(i love my 147). make an a nearly exact copy of it, only changing enough to meet modern emissions and safty standards. this should be the 50th aniversay model, not this cheapy plastic product that just puts shame to the name.

the problem with my idea is that cub cadet died the day that international harvister sold the division back in 1981. a few good models were produced after that, but it was pretty much the end of a line as we know it.




sorry about the rant

 

[adonohue]

i would like to ad that i hope you are right. that when people wake up, that our older tractors which were made much better will be worth more and that the cheapies will be rotting away in the woods. it would be nice to know that i would be sitting on a "gold mine", that they could double in value over night. not that it really matters...... im not selling.

 

[rodsmith]

Look at things this way!
We live in a disposable diaper world.
Coffee pot quits,get a new one.Watch quits,get a new one. Your discount store mower quits,go get a new one. Most times it's cheaper to dispose of,
and go get new.I wish sociaty wasn't that way.
Companies build what the masses want. CHEAP STUFF! (but high prices) We all have contributed to this.We won't ever get good quality things back.
SPOKE MY PEACE!!
ROD

 

[adonohue]

i like rebuilding/overhauling, its fun and rewarding. nothing like taking a worn out engine/machine and making it run like new again. its also cheaper than buying a new machine (still can get expensive though). most people dont think the way i we do. if these old tractors ever disappear than this hobby will be gone, sadly. there arent any machines built today that will be restorable when they are 20,30, 40 years old. instead of being restored and renewed they will be made into soup cans and the plastic will be recycled(whatever is left of it when it gets that old)

 

[mfrade]

Andrew, I don't think you have to worry about the future 20, 30 years or more! The EPA will make sure that there aren't anymore gasoline powered engines by then! Do you prefer 24 volts or 48 volts? LOL...

 

[adonohue]

i guess we would all have to find GE electra track tractors to restore becuase nothing made today is worth buying/using. that electric tractor was actually pretty beastly. i dont know about its run-time but they were a serous, well made garden tractor. as long as gasoline is avialable, i think i will stick to gas powered tractors

 

[digger]

And all this has what to do with the 50th anniversary?

I realize that no one likes the new stuff. Voice your opinions to CCC/MTD.

It's CCC/MTD/CNH that still supplies us with a LOT of parts that they really don't have to and we should be a little appreciative towards them once and a while.

It's all about making money guys!
Your not going to tell me that if you were in business TODAY, that you would not try to find the cheapest/easiest way to make your money and have other Top of the Line parts or equipment to pick up the slack.

It's called supply and demand, deal with it. It's the American way, like it or not.

 

[mfrade]

Supply & Demand isn't just the American Way! It's the only way! Works around the globe!

While I do appreciate both MTD & OUR SPONSERS! Every once in awhile you realize that change isn't your preference!

Like so many others, I had hoped the anniversary edition would've had more "retro" styling. Like Ford did with the Mustang or Chrysler did with the Charger/Challenger, NOT what Chevy did with the Camaro!

Just venting is all... No harm meant.