MDM, my apologies for a bit of harshness. Gamble makes a good point on his analagy "You can't compare a Chevy 1500 work truck to a Chevy 1500 with leather and all the bells and whistles...but people try to with tractors!"
Here is where I stand on brands. Kioti has been around a long time, Mahindra a long time, LG/LS (Montana, Farmtrac) a long time. You refer to "microscopic market share " but here is where I stand on this. GM, getting killed, Ford getting killed, Oldsmobile (where are they?). How about so many dominant ag companies of years gone by that are now gone or Winchester and the list goes on.
The world market place is making changes and when you have companies like LG/LS who dwarf (in total size) some of the more recognized brands you have a committed player who will be around. Is Kubota good? Yes! Are they the best? Well, that is subjective and for each person shopping for a tractor to determine for themselves. In order for that person to make an informed decision they should have fair analysis and I felt you did not do that.
I feel the Japanese products are great but the Korean products are making a huge push to take some of the market and it shows in all industry the Koreans compete in. Their quality is equal to and more affordably priced than the Japanese products and you can now see it in many areas. LG takes more awards at the Consumer Electronics Show than others, Hyundai is making huge gains both in market share as well as quality ratings (JD Powers ranks them above Honda this year) in the number 3 spot behind behind Porsche and Lexus and the growth keeps coming. Why, Japanese products although great are simply overpriced in most areas in my humble opinion.
Lets take a look at Kubota, Honda, Toyota & Sony. Not so long ago they came in and you could get a great product at a great price. They were competing against the Fords, GE, Whirlpools etc. and were down played by the majors but stuck to their game plan and now deservedly are the major players. I see the Korean products now doing that. I see LG, Samsung, Kyocera, Hyundai, Doosan etc. doing the same thing and taking market share.
Hyundai sees room for more U.S. market share gains
both of this year’s changes reflect the growing sales and market share of the Koreans, who now sell more vehicles in the U.S. annually than each of the following: Volkswagen, Mazda, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Mercury, among others.
Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS) 2006 - Setting the Stage for the Big Show - MSN Autos
Electronics and appliances once dominated by U.S. and Japanese are now Korean targets
LG, Samsung gunning hard for US appliance market
How about the Koreans in shipping
http://www.marinelink.com/pda/PdaStory.aspx?StoryID=203193
LG mobile phones hold the number 2 spot for U.S. Market share and Samsung number 3. Now, why all the different data. To simply show that the Koreans are aiming for the market with high quality and lower prices with very financially sounds companies backing them and that is a recipe for success as the Japanese have already showed over the last 30 years.
Since most of the "second tier" or "miniscule market share" holders are Korean manufactured tractors ie.... LG (Montana and Farmtrac), Kioti--Daedong (some Cub), Kukje (Branson) and TYM (some Mahindra and others) then there is no reason to believe that the Korean tractors won't follow suit to their other business counterparts. Koreans are here and they are here to stay and the market share will grow and grow. So, if you want a great product at a great price I would strongly consider the Korean products.
OK, this has digressed a bit on a small thesis on the state of Korean manufacturing and production quality but I think my point is clear.
Oh well, my advice stands. Test drive each, see what is most comfortable, look at standard features, feel for the dealer etc. and make a wise knowledge based decision.
Maka
