These are questions to consider: Will this mower be used for other than personal mowing? - Is your flat acreage smooth and rock-free? - are there many (or will there be) shrubs/bushes/trees/obstacles? - available storage room for unit (they do not do very well if left out in the weather espesialy in extreme hot or cold) - does the dealer offer full support (important for those breakdowns/repairs if you dont know how to repair yourself). You mention a 52" deck - which might be allrite for your acreage.. And Kubota may be exspensive but they are very tough one of my ZTR's is nearly 15 years old and it still runs like brand new. And 2nd I would suggest looking into deisel models they last along time. Anyhow - post of my Rules for buying new equipment... 1. Carefully evaluate the size mower you need and buy at least one size larger (For Example if you think you need a 28Hp get a 30Hp instead). 2. NEVER buy a mower from ANYPLACE that will not let you test drive it (take home) or at least a similar model. Ergonomics are just as important as performance and capability. (Vitally important!) 3. DO NOT base your purchase on price or brand name alone! Do proper research and find all of the available models that fit your criteria and haggle, save, or trade to get the right equipment for the job. Pick up a couple of extra residential yards to earn extra bucks. It is absolutely important that you do not compromise because of the price of your mower!!!! If you follow these three tips you will end up a happy camper with just the right mower for the job. If you disregard this advice your gonna end up with One or the other of the following 2 problems: A. Buyers remorse. Stuck with a piece of junk that is cheap made and overpriced or simply a unit inadequate for the task at hand. Or.. B. A pissed off spouse when you start shopping for another tractor just 3 - 6 months down the road because you didn't buy the right unit in the first place. (In my experience 2 or more acres a diesel model is best they are very tough and low maintenence). Good Luck And Enjoy Your Purchase And May It Last Many Seasons.

scup, "...there will be a 3-5 HP single phase 240 volt farm duty (totally enclosed) electric motor in its future." That would trip any circuit breaker that we have, and probably cost more than your gas splitter. If we went to 220 three phase, we would have to hire an electrician to add the circuit to our garage. I hope to stay within the limits of a 20-amp 110-volt breaker, and tolerate a longer cycle time. I requested dealer and price information from American CLS. It seems to me that you may have to wait quite some time to accumulate enough budget to purchase a "top of the line electric splitter" from them. An electric splitter with a 24-ton capacity really would be "top of the line". It would probably cost considerably more than I would want to spend. It seems logical to me that DR would not allow continued purchase of the extended service contracts, because as the machine gets older and more worn, the probability of needed major service would increase to the point where it would be a losing proposition for them. It's odd that DR could not fix the hydraulic leak. It may have been as simple as a fitting that needed tightening. Quite a few people find that the 4-Ton electric splitters from Home Depot are adequate for their needs. I think they are made in China. I probably will be satisfied with a 12-Ton electric splitter. Like you, I would prefer American made. MM

It pays to look around on those belts. I recently bought a 5/8" X 100" Gates belt at an oil field supply house for between $17 - $18. JD MAY take an odd belt as some do so that you can not buy any other brand, I don't know. Walt Conner

Maybe they only need one line of trucks, but when two lines sell, it only makes sense to keep them and get rid of the brands that don't sell. Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer don't sell well. For that matter the duplication in Ford and Mercury isn't needed either. Personally, I'm not a fan of Saturn. I used to be until my sister bought one. It's noisy and uncomfortable. I borrowed it one day to go out of town and could only go about 50 or 60 miles before I had to stop, get out and move around. I could not handle being in it any longer. I was only about 25-30 miles from my destination and thought about stopping but decided to move on and went a couple miles and had to make a u turn and go back to the exit since the next exit was going to be too far. I was actually in pain from discomfort. Granted, 15 years ago it wouldn't have been the same problem as these last years but nevertheless I can drive my Caravan 200+ miles easily. The other problems with the Saturn was her Lynx had more functional room for passengers and cargo, was quieter and got better gas mileage. There are some positives to the Saturns though like the no-ding doors, no-haggle pricing and more. I'm troubled to see car lines go away these days, especially with the history of Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saab and yes, Saturn, even Hummer. (Hey, I wish DeSoto and Edsel were still around!) But the fact is that GM has been floating on too many too similar brands that it was inevitable. Chrysler too could consolidate even more. But there's a line between near-monopolies and efficiency. The competition is good when it works. Actually when you look at it, it's going back in history a bit in some ways. Decades ago GM was set up that each car division could only make certain levels of cars. As the years passed the old waistline sprawled and the lines overlapped more and more. When I worked for one company who gave all the managers company cars, they essentially had a certain budget they could spend and could choose make, model, color and the like. One liked Pontiac, one liked Buick and two liked Oldsmobile so that's what they each got and they were all within dollars of each other at the fleet prices. Kind of amusing actually.