[AJD] late B

Tue May 31 01:44:56 PDT 2005

Guy:

Thanks for the inside story.  Is it possible we are mixing minor vs major
announcements? Where major would be for example, the change from unstyled to
styled, 50/60/70, 520/620/720, 530/630/730 & NG. I suspect these most of
these came toward the end of the year at or around the same time as the
"Production year" or "Model year" changed. It would seem to me that it would
be too big a temptation to not make a big marketing and sales fuss around a
major change. Maybe all the major changes were timed around the end of the
farmers production year where they started planning for next year and had
the just ending years crops returns in their pocket. :-) 

Maybe it would be interesting to know when these major changes were put into
production and then announced as available. I doubt the manufacturers got by
with selling very much vaporware. For example the 30 series had to have been
a big hype because there really weren't any major changes to take advantage
of other than cosmetics. The Marketers had to be working overtime as the
competition was really starting to get into their shorts. And the 30 series
wasn't really supposed to exist. How JD kept the NG tractors secret, as well
as they did, is an interesting story all by itself. But they sure caught up
and passed the competition with one major announcement!

I can see that minor changes would come along as the engineering and parts
became available as we see the many changes in the Parts Catalogs randomly.

This is and has been an interesting and educational thread. Thanks to all
who have contributed. 

Dean A. Van Peursem
Snohomish, WA 98290

I'm a walking storeroom of facts..... I've just lost the key to the
storeroom door 

www.deerelegacy.com

http://members.cox.net/classicweb/email.htm

-----Original Message-----
From: antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
Guy Fay
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 5:45 PM
To: Antique John Deere mailing list
Subject: Re: [AJD] late B

The reason why the concept of "Model Years" is in dispute is that, in 
general, the farm equipment industry ADVERTISED that they didn't do 
model years.

The ad being referred to is talking about new models, which the farm 
equipment industry did do. But most of the companies (I've seen similar 
claims for at least three tractor manufacturers, don't know if I've seen 
them for Deere but from what I know of production processes, they did) 
specifically state that they made running changes- i.e. that as 
refinements were made, or problems identified and solved, the changes 
went immediately into production as a running change, instead of waiting 
for a line changeover such as the auto industry did.

I've seen the information that companies sent out at the time about 
price increases. For the most part, they didn't hide them as "Model 
Year" changes-they just flat out announced them.

I also recently had a look in my hometown newspaper in the 1954-1957 for 
some other stuff (history of the tractor club I belong to). Of course I 
checked out the ads. The car dealerships in town were making the big 
model year pushes. From the Deere, IH, Allis, Massey, and Ford dealers, 
there was no model year announcements whatsoever.

Avoiding model year changes was something the Farm Equipment Industry 
prided itself in, quite frankly.

Guy

Dean VP wrote:

>Louis:
>
>One thing should be clear by now. There were 1953 model year ([production
>year?) 50's and 60's made in 1952. If my memory serves me right there were
>no 1953 70's made in 1952. As I recall the 70 didn't start shipping until
>sometime in 1953. Need to look it up again. 
>
>But the ad just verifies that the JD Sales, Marketing departments and
>Dealers were very aware of Model years and advertised "new features for
1953
>models that were shipped and built in 1952. The same way the auto industry
>does it. A way to get farmers motivated to buy something with new features.
>It also gave JD the opportunity to raise prices each year. New features
>slightly higher prices. Older models got sold at the old prices or at a
>discount. The way the sales game works in most industries except the
>electronics industry. In that industry, new models with more features cost
>less. Completely backwards of almost all other industries. 
>
>I'm having real trouble understanding why the concept or business method of
>model years is in dispute. 
>
>Dean A. Van Peursem
>Snohomish, WA 98290
>
>I'm a walking storeroom of facts..... I've just lost the key to the
>storeroom door 
>
>
>www.deerelegacy.com
>
>http://members.cox.net/classicweb/email.htm
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>[mailto:antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
>Louis R Godena
>Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 1:57 PM
>To: Antique John Deere mailing list
>Subject: Re: [AJD] late B
>
>Well, the Nov 1952 issue of *Farm Journal* has an ad for the "new" 50, 60, 
>and 70 JD models, so there must have been at least *one* made in '52.
>
>Interesting thing about *Farm Journal*; my grandfather subscribed back in 
>the forties, I guess and maintained his subscription until my father took
it
>
>over in the early sixties.  Around 1961, some genius in accounting decided 
>to "purge" the subscription list of all "non-farmers".  My
vegetable-farming
>
>father, along with the biggest dairy farmer in Rhode Island, was purged and

>"unsubscribed".   Oh, yeah.   The editor of Farm Journal also was kicked
off
>
>the subscriber list.
>
>Ah, the early days of automation:-)
>
>Louis G
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Ronald L. Cook" <rlcook at pionet.net>
>To: "Antique John Deere mailing list" 
><antique-johndeere at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 4:34 PM
>Subject: RE: [AJD] late B
>
>
>  
>
>>Dean,
>>Seeing as how I started this mess, I will mess it up some more.<g>
>>
>>A friend of mine still has his dad's 70.  First one sold by Noonan 
>>Implement or maybe right after Wes Christensen bought that dealership in 
>>Sioux City as I take it.  His dad, now deceased always claimed it was a 
>>1952.  How about that?  I heard there were no l952 70's.  I do not know 
>>the serial number, but someday I might be able to find it out but I have 
>>no idea what its importance would be.  I think it is a 1953.  My dad has a
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>1955 60.  He insists it is a 1954.  Dunno.
>>
>>Ron Cook
>>Salix, IA
>>
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>>
>>    
>>
>
>
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