I hope you're not inferring that Case's future (not production yet) 8010 is simple. Far from it. The 9790 gets its simplicity from having very few drives period. The clean grain elevator is driven from the top and adjusted at the top. The variable speed header drive is not there, but talking with company reps at the shows this fall, it is a feature that is coming. CaseIH does not have it yet either, and the 8010 won't go into full production until 2004, if at all. Right now, I understand it is being delayed because of reliability conflicts between the NH and Case people. NH thinks it is reliable enough, but the Case people tell me it isn't even close to where they would like to see it to replace the solid 2300 series combines. The cleaning fan is out in the open, like a Case. Not aware they have serious problems in heavy corn trash. The long chain driving the feeder house on the left side I would expect to see disappear with the variable speed system coming in the future. It still has about 1_2 the number of chains, belts, and gearboxes as other combines on the market, and has no equal in simplicity. Granted, Gleaner has more drives, but most are very accessible and the machine layout is convenient for service and access. An axial rotor configuration limits the accessibility on machines of this type. The bigger these machines get, the more difficult they will be to clean. Nature of the beast. There are several things that are difficult with Case's 2300 series and Deere's rotary. Changing rotor belts is certainly one that comes to mind. Not so on the MF. I disagree that this new machine comes in last, as you say, among new models. Its performance in most conditions is unrivaled by any other rotary and all but the biggest conventionals in tough going. It is simple and is built for endurance. Working on combines, I can tell you that the MF is the least costly to keep running_rebuild through 1,2,3,4, or 5 thousand hours of use, by a huge margin. Short of the variable speed feeder drive (which is coming),I was impressed with the 9790 and believe it is a first-rate machine compared to what green and the other red has.