[Farmall] Red Tractors 1958-2013

[dean at vinsonfarm.net]

Roberto, I also have a copy of Red Tractors 1958-2013.  Pretty good book, isn't
it?  I saw editor Lee Klancher at the Red Power Roundup last fall here in Ohio,
and he had a fairly steady line of people coming up to his display table and
checking out the book.

Somewhat related to A Corporate Tragedy, in this new Red Tractors book I was
glad to see some discussion of the Farmall 560 final drive failures when that
tractor was introduced at the end of the 1950s.    One of the IH engineers
quoted in Red Tractors 1958-2013 says IH might have generated unnecessary bad
publicity for themselves by launching such an extensive rebuilding program,
rather than simply fixing tractors when and if they had problems.

Red Tractors 1958-2013 didn't really go into the causes of IH's decline, and I
don't know how big the 560's problems would seem in comparison to IH's labor and
organizational struggles.  But it's always seemed to me it must have been a
massive strategic blow, to have their flagship tractor take a public-relations
beating on the eve of John Deere's introduction of the 4010.

Dean Vinson
St Paris, Ohio


> On January 5, 2014 at 11:22 PM Roberto Rivero <rj.rivero at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Sure when i beguin reading the list will know that, because i shall have
> some question.
>
> Now I am reading and ejoying the last book Red Tractors from 1958 to 2013.
>
> Nice Book, there are answer about the designing, of tractors that is nice
> to have the oportunity to know, and see fotos of the ideas.
>
> I desagree in one point, Is stated that Magnum tractor saved the
> company, really Magnun is a very good tractor, (My persotal opinion 72XX
> and 89xx are the best), if we had that tractor in mid seventies nobody
> could with us. But i should say that 50% Magnum and 50% the Axial Flow
> combines saved the company.
>
> At least is my feeling. Here in S Am. Axial Flow is strong selling.
> Tractors not at all.
>
>
> 2014/1/6 <jtchall at nc.rr.com>
>
> > Been a long time since I read it. I must admit some of it is boring. It
> > goes
> > into great details as a means of preserving history before it is lost for
> > good. You get in depth looks into the people that actually ran the company.
> > You also find out how concessions to Union contracts let Deere and
> > Caterpillar squash IH many years later. There is a bit of U.S. history in
> > there, taught from a tractor collectors view, not what is taught in the
> > school system. It is well worth reading to be able to understand how the
> > world agricultural leader managed to collapse. Other wise, you might be
> > misled into thinking IH made bad products in the 1970's which in turn
> > resulted in their downfall. Even if it takes you a while to translate, I
> > really think you would enjoy it. Hey, if you get stuck on something, you
> > got
> > the list to post questions to!
> >
> > John Hall
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Roberto Rivero
> > Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2014 8:56 PM
> > To: Farmall/IHC mailing list
> > Subject: Re: [Farmall] What tractor is this ??
> >
> > Yes A Corporate Tragedy is a book i must read, may be my next book is
> > that, i became lazy and reading such a book in english some times is hard
> > task, there are many especialized bocabulary that make mi use dictionary
> > constantly and then i go too slow.
> >
> > But i am curius about that book and why things went wrong with the IHC.