Hey, the jokes are funny! But I'll try to address why I like older Cadets.
Most everyone here knows my dad retired from an IH dealer. Being a farmboy I was naturally obsessed by equipment. Suppertime conversations (dinner is the meal we at 12 noon down here) were times dad would comment on his day, mainly the adventures of some of his customers. Sometimes it would be tractors, then lawnmowers, then Echo products, then air cooled engines (there are others besides Kohler you know
). There were darker times when the 70's strike began hurting on a local level (dads company was hurting for sales and the local farmers needed parts they couldn't get), or the day IH said they no longer sold enough equipment and were pulling the contract. There was uncertainty when IH spun off Cadet. So for me, lots of memories associated with all things IH.
Now, regarding the machines being so great. Well, here deep in the heart of tobacco country there were only 2 real brands of equipment--IH and Deere. The oddball Masseys, Olivers etc were rare. This setup provided a solid network for both IH and Deere for service and repair--face it, everything breaks or wears out. Farmers or folks with good paying town jobs bought REAL lawnmowers, and here the only real option was going to be a Cadet or a Deere. Yeah there were Snappers, Simplicity, maybe some Wheelhorse, but those guys relied too much on gimmicks and shortcuts--something we can probably all agree on.
Now here is the hard part. I can't say Cadet was the best, but I won't say they were the worst. There are some things on older Deere's that are great. My dad has a 66 Deere 110 he bought 2 years before quitting farming and going to work at the IH dealership. This is the first year I can recall it not being used. 50 years of use is a testament to any machine. I think it actually mows prettier than our 128, or any older Cadet.
I lean toward Cadet based on my history. Also, I hate being just like everyone else. I've shared this here before, but the 3 houses immediately to the south of me all bought high dollar Deere lawnmowers the same week one spring. Easily $20K worth equipment to mow 3 yards. And the 2 houses north of me use green as well. So dad and I get out here and keep ours cut using a hodge podge of classic Cadets amidst an ocean of green.
Oh, for the record. I really wish Cadet had a decent dealer network here. Basically they are all gone and the only one that is a CaseIH dealer is 60 miles away. Most of my parts come via big brown truck from IHCCW. Having said that, no way would I buy a new Cadet. A conventional mower would be Deere, ZTR would take a lot of research.