I have a $4,000- Vielux grill. They stopped making them a couple of yesrs ago. I love the grill but I also have some regrets. On the love side: This thing COOKS! After we bought it, we went over a friends house and they just bought a grill that looked as good as mine for a fraction of the cost. I tried to make a recipe that I made on my grill. I cut fresh peaches in half, dipped the open part in sugar and carmelized the sugar, face down on the grill. (I can post the whole recipe if anyone is interested). It didn't work. The peaches got mushy, and the sugar didn't get carmelized. It didn't have the power. The differece on meats is even more dramatic. It also take less time to cook on high heat. Even heat is important too. That requires cleaning the parts where the gas comes out. I recomend finding out how hard it is to clean those parts before you make a decision. The apect that I'm unhappy about is that the cavity is so large that if I want to make 2 lamb chops, I have to turn on at least half the grill, what a waste of gas! I asked the salesman when I bought it "what if I want to make one or two lambchops?" He said that's easy, you just turn on one or two rows of heat. The problem is that one row of heat barely get the it warm, it can't char meat. Don't let them tell that it will be different with an other grill, it won't. I wish I had a grill with two cavities, like my parents had.

Hi Casey, Sorry to disappoint you, but whoever told you about the origins of the Spirit and Genesis are mistaken - both the Spirit and the Genesis barbecues are being manufactured in China. The difference only being the Genesis barbecues are being assembled in the US. Chinese parts, American assembly line. The only Weber models that continue to be manufactured and assembled in the US are the Weber Summit series of grills (though I would imagine that economics will be changing this in short order as well).

Why pay for sheet metal and cheap burners when you can learn, compare, and get a quality grill in the same price range? For Gas Grills 101 check out "How to Choose", "Major Differences", and "What to Look for" at www.picksinc.com/GasGrills/home.htm For Gas Grills 201 check out the "GrillTalk Message Board" at www.picksinc.com/Grilltalk.htm Don't spend $500 or $1000 for a grill that is poorly constructed, made of sheet metal, and has cheap burners!

Glad to hear you are happy. The Webers get good ratings from Consumer Reports, as well. However, it's not quite the same type of grille as the Members Mark or the Virco, which have a more "professional" or restaurant quality appearance. I admit that looks were a large part of my decision to purchase the Virco. That it works well is of course very nice. I see no problems with the rotisserie other than the left hand warming shelf support interfering with the thumbscrew. Apparently this is a problem on one run of the Vircos. I fixed in in about 10 minutes with a dremel tool. For me, no biggie. The spit on the Virco is very strong and thick and looks like it could easily hold a 20 lb turkey. However, the Virco is not easily transported. It has high quality wheels, but the whole thing weighs about 200 lbs so I'm not planning on loading it into the truck and taking it to picnics. That's just not what it's designed for. Another good grill in the sub-$500 price range is the Great Outdoors grill series. These have 25 year burner warranties, and sound like they are excellent as well. Again, not a restaurant quality look, but like your Weber a well built functioning unit. In terms of temperatures... I frankly don't understand the preoccupation with temps over 500F. I don't think these extremely high temps are necessary or desirable for good cooking results. Searing can be done at 450F, indirect, or on the grill for direct heat. Roasting or smoke-roasting (which is what happens when you lower the lid) is best done at temps at or below 325. The rotisserie gives great results - the chamber only heats to about 150F - but who cares about that as long as the food is cooked properly?