1960s: New Generation
After making more than 1 1⁄4 million Two-cylinder tractors, John Deere switched to four- and six-cylinder engines. Announcement of the change came after seven years of development and forty million dollars in retooling.
In October 1959 the company showcased a new large 215 hp 4WD, called the 8010, on the Robert Ottilie Seed Farm north of Marshalltown, Iowa. It was shown during the largest farming field days event held in Iowa up to that time. Only 100 8010s were built many of which were rebuilt as 8020s. The 215 hp 8020 would appear in 1960. To introduce the new tractors to all of its dealers in a single day, the company chartered planes to fly more than 5,000 people to Dallas, Texas, on August 30, 1961. The day would mark the release of a line of farm tractors that would soon evolve into the standard all other farm tractors would be measured by.
1960 saw the original New Generation tractors with the 1010, 2010, 3010 and 4010 introduced. These were followed by the model 5010 standard introduced in 1962. The 5010 was the first two-wheel drive to be over 100 hp at the PTO and drawbar. This tractor was never available as a row crop model. 9,762 model 5010s were built. In 1963 the 3010 and 4010 were replaced by the 3020 and 4020. The 4020 was one of the most popular tractors Deere and company ever made. 1965 brought the 5020 Standard, which was the industry's most powerful two-wheel-drive model, along with the 1020, 2020 and 54 hp Model 2510. By 1966 Sales of the 4020 accounted for 48% of all John Deere tractor sales. Also that year the row crop version of the 5020 was introduced, and John Deere pioneered the Roll-Guard protection frame to protect the farmer from roll-over injury while in the field.
In 1968 seven new models appeared: the 820, 920, 1020, 2520, 4000, 4520, WA-14, and WA-17. The 4520 was John Deere's first turbocharged tractor and a pair of 4WDS called the WA-14 and WA-17. The 3020 and 4020 were updated with new features, and the 5020 model had a power increase to an industry leading 141 hp.
Read more about this topic: List Of John Deere Tractors
Famous quotes containing the word generation:
“There is hardly an American male of my generation who has not at one time or another tried to master the victory cry of the great ape as it issued from the androgynous chest of Johnny Weissmuller, to the accompaniment of thousands of arms and legs snapping during attempts to swing from tree to tree in the backyards of the Republic.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)