Ya sure alwaysbusted. Sounds real good when you say it fast. Computers on current day macines cause more problems than they cure. Software engineers who know nothing about machinery and operating it write programs for things that they think would be neat which makes no sense. Case in point, Cat dozers have a feature that allow each operator to store his preferred settings for blade response and type of work being done. One of two things happens. One operator will never touch it, the next will spend all day long playing with the damn thing. Any time he is supposed to have saved is gone in playing with the computer.
As far as the principals of any of the various engineering diciplines go that has not changed. The laws of Physics don't lend themselves to being changed.
I too would love to see an early Cat D8 run rings around you and your high tech deere's while you sit in the shade waiting for it to cool down so you can get back at it.
As far as operators go, there are getting to be more and more inexperienced machine drivers, not operators, around who don't know a damn thing and further more don't want to learn anything either. The machine computer and GPS is supposed to do it all for them.
Whoa guys back off, don"t blame me for the technology, I didn't design the machine, I just make a living with it. I don't owe a dime on any of my equipment because I spent years running old equipment so I could afford newer machines. As far as hourly jobs vs contract by the acre, the landowner makes that choice in my business, I regularly do it both ways. Some contractors can't be trusted doing hourly work. I rely on my work reputation which served me well in that regard for the past 26+ years, others don't fare as well. If you run good equipment and good operators you earn a reputation that speaks for you. I don't advertize but have never had less than 6 months of future work on the schedule, a large part being repeat work for the landowners.
As far as the equipment overheating while plowing, I was able to work while Komatsu, New Holland, and lots of Cat equipment (some new some not so new) sat idle during the heat while doing relatively light duty backfilling on a pipeline project on the same ranch. And yes, the direct drives were shut down too. It doesn't sound like you are currently running a plow tractor in this drought so like I said you had to be there to know what it is like. While you would have loved to have seen a D8 plowing, well that wasn't the case, they were working the same hours as me, if at all. Clearly you have a real lifetime connection with them, I respect that. I happen to like my machines, and despite the trivial criticism, they are far superior to machines not having so much as a tier level 0 ratings--their days are numbered regardless how great they were back in the day, the EPA will see to that.
Perhaps if we're not careful, the EPA will put an end to your brush clearing along with some of our tier 0 tractors that seem to do the same work and burn the same amount of fuel. The environmental advantage of your tier 4 or even interim 5.5 EU 9.6 B is such a crock. I dare you to even try to convince me that a machine that burns the same amount of fuel to do the same amount of work will produce less emmissions. Maybe they could pipe the exhaust into the cab, or maybe they already have.