Check this out....I have one and love it.

Singer Heavy Duty Sewing Machine
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...&blockType=G13

I know you said you don't want an old machine but I sew some part of every day and I find the Singer 500a the best and most reliable machine for a backup. It is all metal, no plastic parts to lose adjustment. It came with 5 additional discs with special fancy stitches, and others available. I have a Pffaff 2144 embroidery machine as my first machine and it has already lost a "motherboard" and had to be sent in once. The Singer I bought on E-Bay and it is always ready.

My suggestion is the Viking Mega Quilter. I love mine. It's really fast, has the knee lift and the thread cutter..it doesn't have the bobbin low message but other than that it is a great machine. I got mine on sale for 999. It's easy to load the bobbin and you don't have to take the quilt out to load it which is great. I use a good quality thread and have had no problems with thread breakage. It only does straight stitching so it is a no frill top of the line machine. My other machine is a Kenmore (made by Janome) but it doesn't have the thread cutter or knee lift but works great.

I vote for the Juki as well.

Check out ebay for the juki QL98 it has a wide throat, and straight stitches only. I love mine!!

I ended up with another Bernina, an older model without all the computer stuff. Nothing measured up for me, other than the quality of a Bernina.

I have the Brother 1500. It has all the features you are asking for except bobbin alarm. It looks identical to the Juki.

Low bobbin warning should be a must with any machine! Mine does't have it but ALL MACHINES SHOULD HAVE IT!

I have a BabyLock 'Ellure' and it has all that you are looking for... I LOVE mine!

Try a Juki they are under 1000 and will meet all your needs only thing I don't like about it is your bobbin will run out without your realizing it.