Interesting thread - as I've just purchased a new machine also - traded Bernina for Janome. Both are great machines and both do well at what they were intended for. It seems to me that attitudes toward different brands of sewing machines are similar to what people think of car brands - ie., some people are convinced that Chevy is the only brand or maybe Ford. My Dad would never drive anything but a Chevy nor buy any appliance other than Kenmore!