My last comment was deleted.... must have offended one of the moderators that is a JD fan...... all that I did was agree with Art that everyone makes JD tractors today .. My guess is that died in the wool JD people don't like to hear this...... What they manufacture today is virtually nothing compared to what they put their name on. Their excavators are made by Hitachi and their bottom of the line garden tractors/lawn mowers are made by MTD. I am not aware of all the names of the companies that make the rest of what they sell. I do know that they no longer manufacturer snow blowers, but I don't know who is their contract supplier for them this year. They are more of a marketing company than a manufacturing company. I will give them credit for having a great parts distribution system and parts support for what they have their name on....
I did see a program on the Discover channel that showed how they build their BIG tractors and that they cast everything for them in house. I don't know when it was filmed, so it might not be applicable today.
It is a shame that American companies have given up manufacturing and have become distributors of other manufacturers and are willing to sell their good name to the highest bidder.
Hope that this one is allowed to stay......
