You have already heard from me....but here's a bit more....
Cat send out a field follow engineer the other day accompanied by Jim from Butler in Fargo who among other duties tracks all the M's sold by Butler. About 1000 M's in service now, Jim said no work stopping failures yet, I didn't think to ask if that was the ones sold by Butler or all sold by Cat. A couple issues with cab doors to attend to, new seals and glass fit inspection as some crack the glass. Tier 4 engines likely the only change on the horizon. They have machines running in Canada in COLD weather and performance is fine. Some discussion about going to a colder temp rated hydraulic fluid on machines order with snow arrangement.
They did note initial resistance by seasoned operators to M series machines, too much change. There were also several stories from those same fellows who begrudgingly put in a day on the seat, returned to the shop and swallowed their objections. A few more days and many decided against early retirement. I kind of know the feeling, you get pretty good at running what you've got, then this comes along, what were they thinking? The first days on the seat you go at it with skepticism, find that fatal flaw, tell them to get it right. But after a while it becomes obvious the problem is me, not the machine, they got it right. Be careful what you say, some words don't taste too good when you have to eat them.
1000 M's running, how many of those drivers are on the web, how many of those hang out here, how many of those read but don't post.... There might not be a lot of activity for a while, give it time.