Combines lexion Combines

[dakota]

Through Caterpillar Claas was able to have a dealernetwork in the US. Even so many CAT dealers don't deal with ag equipment, a person can at least walk up to places across the country and find things. Claas always had a quality product or they wouldn't be market leader in Europe. At the same time the John Deere dealers have less and less parts in stock, while their new combines are giving more trouble. All that brings the fence down far enough to try the grass on the other side.

 

[Vikes]

I think you are wrong. If a Cat dealer wants a lexion, he is going to want it branded Cat. I don't think there will be a change in the near future.

 

[Chris]

The variable here is how long Cat is willing to let someone put their name on a product without having any control over it's features or it's quality. left to their own devices, the Claas engineers will continue to develop an archaic, overpriced machine that the American market will not bear. Cat has had a heck of a time getting their engineers to understand anything at all about our market, so I'm not convinced that the machine will be improved without Cat corporate as a full-time player.

 

[dakota]

If this lexion is so archaic and overpriced, would you explain to me, why they sold so many already while being new in the marketIJ What country is it, that CAT has such a hard time understandingIJ CAT has never changed anything to the lexion for America. It is Claas who keeps adapting it to the regions.

 

[Blackie]

Dakota, I just bought a new lexion 450 and I am wondering if the straw chopper will spread the full width of a 30 ft. headIJ I've seen on some earlier posts that some guys had some 470's that were not spreading the full cut width. Is there any difference between the choppers on the 470's and the 450'sIJ Is there any such thing as a "high performance" chopper option for the lexionsIJ I do alot of no-till and min-till planting and even residue spreading is very important to me.

 

[dakota]

Email me, I can help you.

 

[Chris]

ArchaicIJ let's see....sit in the cab and check out where all of the controls are, and compare them to a Deere, a Case, or a New Holland. You might even be able to throw a Gleaner or a Massey in on this one, but I can't say because I haven't been in on one. What kind of an idiot would put the manual control for the header roll control anywhere but on the joystickIJ Why make the onboard computer so confusing and impossible to understandIJ I never said that Cat had a hard time configuring a machine for the US market. I stated that Claas doesn't understand the US market. Cat corporate has had a significant amount of input on the changes that had to be made just to get them to survive for one year. Cat people were fighting a long, hard fight to keep these changes as part of the machines when Claas engineers couldn't see the value in what they had done. I know, for a fact, that Cat has made specific changes to these machines, and I wouldn't wish a machine without those changes on anyone, including you, dakota.

 

[Chris]

I see now where the misunderstanding was. I meant that Cat has had a heck of a time getting Claas to understand anything about our market.

 

[dakota]

After we just bought four of those lexions, I can tell you that there isn't much changed to the Europeans. The only thing they really had to do is a hyrdraulic reel drive. If you say CAT did changes, than name them. Otherwise I stick to my opinion, that CAT didn't do a bolt on them lexions. I got my opinion after talking to Claas people, who assemble them in Germany. After running CASE and several Deere, I love the lexion cab and the computer. At least it tells you in plain English what is wrong instead of encrypting it in an error code, that you don't find in the book anyway. That other button you were talking about was the lateral tilt for the header, I guess. We don't have that anyway since we're running MacDon's.

 

[Dustmaker]

Sorry to screw up your perfect world, but Cat doesn't even really have a combine any more. Now that they have sold 100% of the US endeavor to Claas, I would venture to guess that in a couple of years Cat will completely bail out of the ag market, the market that they so emphatically stated that they were committed too. I am certainly glad I don't own one right now. The Claas may be a good machine, but Cat can certainly take no credit for that. They better stick to crawlers and construction equipment.