I'm going to begin by stating I have no problem with Classic Motion making such a suggestion. As long as MTF management are fine with it, so am I.
However, I won't be joining Facebook, My Space or any other so-called social networking site anytime soon and more likely than not.....NEVER. I really don't care that John Deere has 241,000 fans on Facebook or elsewhere. Case is back in the business of selling garden tractors and CUT's but they haven't had a single thing to do with the GT's that this MTF forum is all about since 1983.
The person who bought the company from Case, turned around and abandoned it a few years later by selling it to a company who pillaged it and then brought it to the brink of destruction. The company that owns it now don't seem to be much better at running it. They aren't even capable of funding a corporate website that would create an interest in their garden tractor line if someone should actually stumble across that site in a search for a machine.
In addition, I TOTALLY agree with Kungdrew's points. Over the past 3 years, I've been amazed at how much money people on e-bay are paying for Case parts, implements and optional equipment. Whenever there is money to be made like that, there will always be the whores who arrive in the camp to collect that money. The garden tractor collecting hobby is currently in its infancy but every time I look in on e-bay these days, I see more that 1200 items on offer that have come from parted out tractors.
I thought we were all in a deep recession and logic would dictate that prices should fall when people don't have jobs or are worried about keeping the one they have. And yet, I see 3 pt hitches that used to sell for $250.00, now selling for $450.00 and up. Two e-bay Sellers in particular, who shall remain nameless, have done everything in their power to jack up the price of part to try and increase their profits. I'm not interested in furthering that agenda because it promotes the further destruction of more of the tractors that some people truly appreciate.
This becomes a vicious circle that feeds on itself. As more tractors get parted out, there are fewer tractors available at a cheap price for true enthusiasts to purchase. Eventually, some of the tractors that are currently in collections will be bought up, dismantled and parted out by those who only seek profit. I'm not the slightest bit interested in raising public awareness to the Case branded lawn and garden tractors from the 60's, 70's and 80's because of those reasons.
Secondly, MTF is already a raging success and it doesn't need any further promotion. Those who are truly interested in tractors of any make or type, have no problem finding MTF when conducting a Google search about just about anything that is tractor-related. Therefore, I am at a loss as to why going on Facebook has any real merit. To me, it does not offer what MTF's format does because it was never designed to do so. MTF was the brainchild of people who wanted an on-line site that could help other people that had problems with their tractors. That was the focus back then and that's still the focus today. Everything about MTF has evolved with that one purpose in mind.
I also have no desire to try and help a company who has no desire to help itself. A year ago, I would have never made that statement but from what I've seen and learned about Eastman lately makes me believe that this brand of tractor is doomed. It's an opinion. Nothing more.
Sites such as Facebook are the flavor of the moment. First you had MySpace followed by Facebook and now there is Twitter. What's next? When the newest "cool" site appears, all of the sheep will rush over there to try and be "cool" once again. Thanks but no thanks. I'm not interested in being "cool" any longer.
