Re: (ET) Bill Gunn

["David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <roden ald net>]

Good points about ETC and Bill.  

To make myself more clear, I don't suggest that everyone should always 
buy absolutely every single part from Bill, including the expensive big 
bits like transaxles (which I may be looking into pretty soon here; mine 
is making some worrisome noises) or possibly drive motors.  I have to 
admit, that's somewhat unrealistic.

Nor do I advocate rescuing a truly ruined tractor.  While I admire folks 
who will restore tractors with daunting challenges such as rusted out 
frames, it's probably more reasonable to part them out at that stage.

On the other hand, it's hard to argue that used parts are going to be 
more reliable than new or rebuilt ones.  So I think it makes sense to 
support Bill by purchasing as much as possible from him.  How much that 
is will depend on each owner's financial situation and the way he uses 
the tractor; for example a person using it in business needs a reliable 
machine and will probably want to use as many new parts as possible.

I admire what ETC is doing, and I spread the word about them as much as 
possible.  Their price list seems to be gone from the website, but I 
can't imagine the prices are any lower.  (Does anyone know?)  Like the 
limited-production on-road EVs, one pays a premium for zero emissions and 
the other benefits of electric drive.  Often that makes it a hard sell.

Unfortunately that's the case even for me.  I would love own a new 
Electric Ox.  It is a beautiful machine.  But I have to admit that if I 
had to pay that much for a tractor, electric or not, I wouldn't have a 
tractor at all.  Where I live now (2.8 acres, some of it in trees) a 
tractor is a convenience, but not a necessity; I couldn't justify 
spending thousands of dollars for an Electric Ox, nor for a gas tractor 
for that matter (and for me it's not worth breathing gas fumes from a 
conventional tractor in any case).  So if I didn't have the ET, I most 
likely wouldn't have a tractor at all.

As for ETC purchasing the parts business, I hate to ask it, but how 
financially stable is ETC?  Are they likely to survive another 5 years?  
I now see a parent company's logo (Staront) on their webpages; is that a 
good thing?  

On the other hand, an ETC dealer might be a good choice for adopting the 
ET parts business, if they have a strong commitment to electric equipment 
that would survive if ETC were to disappear.

Ultimately, I think it will be someone on this list who continues the ET 
parts business.  But, from what people have said here, it sounds to me 
like Bill Gunn isn't yet quite ready to give it up.  Even though it may 
not be in his best business interests, I think he really likes these 
machines.  




David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
1991 Solectria Force 144vac
1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
1979 General Engines ElectroPed 24vdc
1974 Honda Civic EV 96vdc
1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
NOTE: If you receive an email which exhorts you to "Send
this to everyone you know," you don't know me.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =