Our Joann's here do not sell Vikings. Only Singers/Whites.
This SVP merger is NOT new, it happened a few years ago. Pfaffs have not been made IN Germany for years now. Pfaff has even stopped manuf. in Czechoslavakia. Some Pfaff models were made in Sweden after Viking bought Pfaff, but did not continue. Our dealer told us that all Pfaffs are made in China now. They've had so many problems with the Expressions 2.0-4.0 models that came out last year. My SIL bought the 3.0 and it has been in for repairs most of the last year
So much for the German (& Viking) engineering !! I'm hanging on to my older Pfaff. I fear their quality will never be the same ... :(