|
WFE
12-08-1999 10:47:59
|
|
Re: Re: Hey WFE in reply to highboyford, 12-07-1999 19:02:57
|
|
| |
I'll try to do the best I can by telling you what I know to respond to some of the good points that you raised. First, I'm not sure how to respond to a 2-70 not being able to keep up with a 1655. I personally prefer the appearance of the 1655 to the 2-70; the 1655 is a beautiful tractor and the 283 engine is a real powerhouse for its size. I can't think of any significant differences in these two models that would explain this phenomenon, other than that 1655s have been known to turn 90+ hp with a little persuasion from the injection pump aneroid. As for AGCO getting rid of the Over/Under, they weren't that stupid. AGCO offers a Quadrashift transmission in their large tractors. The Quadrashift, although I don't believe it is built by AGCO, is a direct offshoot of the Over/Under developed by Oliver in 1967, which was really just a big upgrade of the Hydra-Power Drive that Oliver introduced in 1962. Same principle: speed reduction through planetary gear sets. The principle is the same for nearly all powershifts, except the Over/Under had the advantage of being built by Oliver so it was more rugged, more smooth, and more reliable. It has the same efficiencies inherent in the beautiful Over/Under, which I think you'll agree, is the best powershift ever put in an agricultural tractor, but it provides 4 powershift speeds in each of 8 gears, which, combined with a forward/reverse shuttle, provide 32 speeds forward and reverse--Now that's a good transmission. Oliver and White have always had the best transmissions, except White didn't syncronize their transmissions when they should have in the late 70s and through the 80s. This would have been an absolute must, would they not have followed the rest of the industry by introducing a full electronic powershift that is the best in the business, putting AGCO, once again, at the top in tractors. True, this powershift is not nearly as economical as the Quadrashift, but that is why White gives the purchaser the choice of these two transmissions: the Quadrashift for economy or the powershift for more versatility. Most buyers opt for the convenience of the full powershift and will sacrifice the power for it. As for Massey's powershift being the reason AGCO purchased Massey, I can't say for sure. I never liked Massey tractors until they were owned by and manufactured jointly under AGCO. But I can say that it was a brilliant move on AGCO's part. Massey is likely what is keeping the company afloat in this farm economy recession. Massey's huge success overseas is really helping pay the bills while AGCO's other brands, Allis and White and the others, attempt to reclaim their rightful place in the domestic market, #1. I hope to see that someday. And as for the disappearance of White Farm Equipment, and for that matter, the Oliver Corporation, nothing on this earth saddens me more. For no single company did more to advance the mechanization of agriculture than they did. And they prospered for it. And they did it with superior products and innovation, not with marketing like other companies which shall remain nameless. I was never able to see the Charles City, Iowa facility operating or tour the interior, and this is the only regret that I have in life. I should have been born 50 years earlier so I could have worked at that marvelous place in Iowa. I will close for now by saying what fine taste in automobiles you must have with a name like highboyford. Ford vehicles are the finest, with little exception.
|
|
|
