BRITISH FARM TRACTORS

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25768, 1 April 1949, Page 6

BRITISH FARM TRACTORS

“WILL STAND ANY COMPARISON ”

REPLY TO IMPORTERS OF U.S. MACHINES

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 31. “Ludicrous is the only work to describe statements made by importers of American tractors that the prices of English tractors are high and that their performance and reliability are not yet known,” said a statement issued by British tractor importers today.

“The plain facts are that the lowestpriced full general-purpose type tractor on the New Zealand market today is a British tractor. British manufacturers have been producing tractors continuously for more than 25 years. The British farming community is the most highly mechanised of any farming community in the world. The performance and reliability of the British tractor were proved beyond doubt in continuous round-the-clock operations during the critical period of the war.

“To say that a servicing organisation for British tractors is at present nonexistent is equally ridiculous. Every British tractor distributed in New Zealand is backed by a full servicing organisation and the number of servicing points for British tractors throughout New Zealand far exceeds the number of servicing points provided by importers of American tractors. This statement is made without reserve.

“Whether or not the Government of New Zealand provides United States dollars for the importation of more American tractors is no affair of British tractor importers, but it can become a matter for their serious concern when American tractor interests, tq further their case, make an unwarranted and entirely unjustifiable attack on the British product. Whatever the American tractor interests do or say, the British tractor is here to stay. It will stand any comparison with the American product on price or performance. It is backed by servicing arrangements in New Zealand that are second to none. It can stand squarely on its own capacity and repu-i tation, and it is the product of New Zealand’s best customer. “Make no mistake about it, British goods are good goods, and the British tractor is no exception.”