Using the early 1980’s as an example, even in the days of the tank built IH Cub Cadet garden tractors of that time such as the 482-982 which can last nearly forever and you still see all over the place, IH had the lawn tractor line of lightweight 182-382 vertical engine cheapies, which are similar to what the 1000 series CC’s are today. Manufacturers today are of course marketing many more of the cheap LT’s than heavy duty GT’s like the 3000 series CC’s simply because times have changed and most residential buyers only want and need a cheap lawn mower and thus the big GT’s do not sell as well. The box store concept has also opened the doors to expose and move more of the LT's to the homeowner using old well known quailty brand names as a selling point. 25 years ago people did more of their own gardening, did more of their own snow removal, and the other things one bought a true garden tractor for. But there were still those people back then who only wanted a rugged lawn mower who bought a machine in the GT lineup. CC makes the 3000’s for the do-all and rugged groups, and the same rule applies as 25 years ago- If you want more, you’ll pay more. Factored for inflation, the 3000’s are about on par with the mid-range 682/782 machines of the 80’s. As someone mentioned in another thread the quality maybe isn’t as good as 25 years ago, but it’s close and you get a few more comfort and convenience features on the good GT's today.
In essence, little has changed except for the manufacturers keeping in touch with the buying market and having more avenues to sell more of their products. I still whole-handidly believe in the dealer concept for buying a lawn tractor as the best way to go. But, some dealerships have painted snaky pressure sales images for themselves, which is what is attracting people to buy at the box store. I'll even admit that if I was considering a new Cub, I would probably give it the visual once over at a box store before going to a dealer, simply because I like to look at things without someone all over me like a bad suit. Then I would think up my questions and head to the dealer for answers.
-Fordlords-
In essence, little has changed except for the manufacturers keeping in touch with the buying market and having more avenues to sell more of their products. I still whole-handidly believe in the dealer concept for buying a lawn tractor as the best way to go. But, some dealerships have painted snaky pressure sales images for themselves, which is what is attracting people to buy at the box store. I'll even admit that if I was considering a new Cub, I would probably give it the visual once over at a box store before going to a dealer, simply because I like to look at things without someone all over me like a bad suit. Then I would think up my questions and head to the dealer for answers.
-Fordlords-