Good catch on your friend's part!
I have noticed there are more 222's in Canada. The downside, if you live in Canada, are the taxes that add almost 15%. It's almost worth buying one and having it shipped to a friend in the US.
As for being a gateway drug it's too late for me. When I discovered my vintage Husqvarna had a cracked cam stack in May I researched fixing it. I saw photo after photo of gorgeous vintage machines and I was hooked - even before I bought the first.
Between the end of May and now I've bought five!