WOW!!!! I was the original poster back in--------May 2002??!!!! Can't believe this is still going! For the "rest of the story"-----I never did purchase a KA stand mixer after giving it much thought, but ended up buying a very nice GE hand mixer which I have been happy with and for me, seems to be all I need. I use a bread maker just to knead my bread and then I shape the kneaded dough, let rise, and bake in the oven. Glad my original question has been useful for comment for so many others in the last 10 1/2 years. I really appreciate all of these forums on GardenWeb and have learned so much over the years from all of you.

What a great thread - I have the original white, lift bowl Model K 5A. And I have to confess that many times over the years I've been tempted by the siren call of those glorious cobalt, pistachio and and chrome machines. But I have a strong sentimental attachment to my Kitchen Aid and I still remember the day my husband and I purchased it. While waiting to have the tires changed on our 1971 Plymouth Duster we wandered across the parking lot to a Best Products store. He spied me eyeing the mixer and encouraged me to buy it. I thought it was too extravagant - we were living on one income and he still had 2 more years of med school. But we had been scrimping and watching every penny and DH was working in the lab on weekends so he bought it for me. I still have the receipt, I use it as a bookmark inside my Joy of Cooking. That was 11/20/1976 and I paid $164.89 for it. And it's also the first thing I look for when I check a bridal registry - it's my favorite gift. Maire

I have an old (30+ years) KA-Hobart 4.5, which has been a real workhorse. The only limit has been the capacity of the bowl. I also have a KA Pro 6, which DH got for a Christmas gift in 2006. With a special offer from Amazon and a rebate from KA, he ended up paying $275.00. I haven't had any problem with this machine laboring with anything, including heavy whole-grain doughs. Nor have I experienced the loudness some have mentioned. Maybe it differs from machine to machine? Wattage can't be trusted. Most wattage figures only list the amount the machine pulls from the outlet, not the wattage it puts out. For example, the $1500 5-quart Hobart now available for home use actually has a very low wattage. So what? Wattage doesn't indicate power, at least not as the number is commonly used. Here's a quote from Cooks Illustrated's last review of mixers regarding the wattage issue: "If I hadn't included the Hobart in the lineup, I might never have discovered the sneaky truth behind wattage ratings. Most mixers list their power in watts; Hobart is the only one to use horsepower. When I learned that 1/6 HP equals a mere 124 watts, I scratched my head in puzzlement. How could this quiet, powerful workhorse have the lowest wattage rating in such a hacking, shuddering group (from 250 watts to 1,000 watts)? Turns out Hobart is the only mixer to list output power rather than input power. What's the difference? Output wattage is the amount of power the motor actually produces--which flows out of the motor, moves through the mixer arm, and, ultimately, smacks the ingredients around. Every other mixer lists input wattage, which is simply the power that flows from the electrical outlet into the mixer's motor. What does input wattage tell you about the power of a mixer? Absolutely nothing--it's purely a marketing gimmick. To wit, the six models that failed the bread dough test (our initial round) had power ratings ranging from low to high, mostly high (275, 350, 400, 450, 700, 700). In addition, every other test showed absolutely no correlation between mixer performance and wattage. (If manufacturers were willing to provide output wattage figures, comparison would be easy, but this key bit of data is never offered.)" So apparently, whatever mixer you decide to buy, wattage shouldn't be the criterion. Carol

Mine is also the 4-1/2 qt tilt-back head, in cobalt blue and I can't remember exactly how long I've had it, but several years anyway. Got it for a great price at Tuesday Morning. What I want to add is don't be fooled by the quart thing into thinking you can't mix large quantities unless you buy the mega model. I bake routinely and I have a super cookie cookbook put out by an Amish community. As you can imagine, they don't bother with the batches that make 4 dozen. Those recipes are written in quantities that make 11 to 12 dozen cookies at a crack. Often I will reduce that, but the first time I tried a recipe as written I looked at the bowl and thought this probably will not work. It's appearance is deceiving, because I got it all mixed without a problem. My friend however, felt she needed the 6 quart with lifter, and although she likes it, it was too tall to live on her counter under the upper cabinets so its home is on a shelf in the garage off the kitchen door. I'm sure because of that, it doesn't get used nearly as often as she had imagined. Whatever you get, you will most likely be thrilled with, because the KA truly works very well.