# This is the last season for John Deere snowblowers.



## sscotsman

Heads up Deere fans:

U.S. Deere dealers to sell Honda products

quote from link:


> Under the new sales and marketing agreement, participating dealers will offer Honda’s walk-behind lawnmowers, generators, tillers, water pumps and snowblowers beginning in 2012. The Moline-based Deere also announced that it will no longer sell the John Deere-branded walk-behind mowers and snowblowers through any of its U.S. sales channels after 2012.


This season, 2012 model year, (winter of 2011/2012) will be the last for JD snowblowers!  never saw that one coming..
Briggs & Stratton has been making JD snowblowers since 2005.

JD has been one of the major snowblower lines for 30-40 years (I still havent been able to determine exactly when they started!) but it was probably in the 70's..

Very sad..the article also says:


> But the walk-behind products, he said “has been a category that has not met our financial requirements for several years.


which means: they just arent selling well enough.
my theory is that they arent selling well simply because they are too good! especially the higher-end JD machines based on the Simplicity line, which is one of the best snowblower designs ever..(the smaller deere machines are based on old Murray designs..which are "ok" but not at the same level as the Simplicity machines) People dont want expensive quality machines anymore..they only want cheap junky machines from Walmart..they are getting their wish, more than they know.. 

End of an era..get them while you can.
for the record, any current JD snowblower that has one of these three engines:

Briggs & Stratton 305cc 1450 series - Made in the USA
Briggs & Stratton 342cc 1550 series - Made in the USA
Briggs & Stratton 342cc 1650 series - Made in the USA 


Will be the last of the "100% made in America" JD snowblowers, both the snowblower body, and the engine both..

(well..the engines _do_ have outsourced parts in them, not sure what percentage..but they are _mostly_ made in America, and assembled in America by Americans..I consider these engines "made in America", but they arent literally 100% US parts..(nothing is anymore) but still..its the closest we have left..If I had a snowblower with one of these engines, I would proudly call it one of the last snowblowers "made in the USA"..both the snowblower body and the engine)

the smaller Briggs engines, 205cc and 249cc, are made in China, and have been for many years now..if the engine isnt one of those three models above, (on a new snowblower) the engine is made in China..
those three Briggs models are the only remaining snowblower engines made in the USA..

If anyone has one of these last JD snowblowers, please post it here!
we would like to see them..

Scot


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## Simplicity

+1 don't see many Deere high end ones like the Simp. Yes the lower end simp are murray based machines but the quality is still a lot higher then some others based on this platform. Of course if I had the money I would get the real deal simp.


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## sscotsman

Looks like I was wrong about the higher-end John Deeres being the Simplicity designs..(for recent years anyway) there might have been some over the past few years, but not this year.

When Briggs & Stratton took over the Simplicity, Snapper, Murray and John Deere snowblower lines in 2005, their "flagship" models were the Simplicity "Pro" models:










Note the distinctive Simplicity robust handlebars and "dash" unit..the whole "tractor" was (and is) a very robust machine..Briggs is still building these now as Simplicity models.

I believe after 2005 Briggs used the Simplicity designs for the "upper" models, and the Murray designs for the more entry level to "midrange" models for all the brand names.
(except probably Murray..there was probably never a Murray badged machine based on the Simplicity design!)

I *thought* I saw a John Deere that looks like a repainted "Pro" Simplicity, but I could be wrong about that..

John Deeres current "top of the line" model is this:










Looks like it has a Simplicity scoop, but not the Simplicity "Pro" tractor unit..
so its probably a hybrid of Simplicty and Murray ancestral designs..

Scot


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## bwdbrn1

Interesting news there. I've been to that John Deere Dealer in Silvis. I wasn't all that impressed. I wonder what this is going to do the the existing Honda dealers. Sort of looks like Honda is putting them out to pasture. I hope not as the Honda dealer in Moline is a good guy to deal with and has been with Honda Power Equipment from their beginning in the U.S. market.


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## twofishy4u

Minus the japaneese stuff that Simplicity Pro is the best blower made. Even the ones from the mid 80's are still alive and well. Too bad about Deere. Just sold a real Deere Sunday AM. Don't think the guy knew what he bought, just hope he takes care of it.


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## HCBPH

*Sad*

Sad to see another one bite the dust. I don't have any Simplicities or Deere's but they look robust.

Seems strange to me, sure looks like those are around 32" auger housing, yet to me it looks like that Simplicity must have (based on the photo only) something like a 9" impeller and it's necked down to a smaller chute. I would have expected both a bigger impeller and chute opening on them.


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## Simplicity

HCBPH said:


> Sad to see another one bite the dust. I don't have any Simplicities or Deere's but they look robust.
> 
> Seems strange to me, sure looks like those are around 32" auger housing, yet to me it looks like that Simplicity must have (based on the photo only) something like a 9" impeller and it's necked down to a smaller chute. I would have expected both a bigger impeller and chute opening on them.


Those simps use a 14" impeller. Its the sheer size of the housing that makes the impeller look small but trust me its far from small. Was in front of one last night these machines are monsters.


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## twofishy4u

that is the 38" wide version. I owned a 32" (1080) older version and had a newer briggs on it, great machine. Just sold it recently. Guy has no idea what he bought till we get some snow.


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## HCBPH

*Impeller size*

I have a 32" wide with a 14" impeller in the garage right now. The impeller to housing looks much bigger on that one but then again that's in person vs a picture. 
I can't get that one through the garage door (6" too wide), I can't imagine what it would be like to have a 38"


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## jgayman

I just purchased a 1338PE. Haven't had a chance to use it yet. It is replacing a 15+ year old MTD 12/33.


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## kb0nly

No more overpriced green machines?? Bummer!


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