When it comes to brand loyalty, farmers and tractor owners tend to make the average pickup driver look like a wet noodle. Many farming families have stuck with the same brand of machine for generations, let alone years and we know of people who have actually had their families ruptured (or nearly ruptured) with the appearance of an “off-brand” machine showing up on the farm. Because the loyalty runs so deep, tractor companies have, since the beginning of tine, done their best to sway potential customers to come their way. In 1973 White got really creative with this and devised a series of tests to be performed as an illustration of their Oliver brand’s superiority over other makes of tractors. Who did they hire to administer it?
USAC
Yep, same group that was in charge of the Indy 500, sprint car racing, the whole she-bang. While it seems ridiculous to bring them into the fold here, it does lend credibility to the testing. If those guys can time the Indy 500 they can certainly handle measuring stuff like a standing start plow pull for 100ft, right?
These were some fairly muscled up tractors for the early 1970s. The Caterpillar engine is basically hanging out the sides of the Oliver and it was not giving up any horsepower to the other tractors which include John Deere, International, and Massey-Ferguson. To say that the MF is a little weak in the knees would be an understatement. We’re guessing they were pretty well shamed by this film.
From the stiff open with the company leader to the fun competition and footage from the fields, this is a great watch if you love the old tractor world. Head to head competition is the best way to show off, especially when it is overseen by a third party. Fun stuff here.
