Swimjim, Thanks for the response. I can appreciate your stepping up to the 22/44 for the beefier tranny. What do you think of the Briggs Twin engine compared to the Kohler Courage? For me the Kohler was a big improvement in terms of noise, from my old 8hp Briggs, and apprears to have plenty of power. Since my lot is fairly level, I felt the K46 would handle the tasks OK. I was concerned about pulling heavy loads, such as my lawn sweeper when it's full, but it handled that task with ease. I had fun comparing the Regent to other tractors. What I appreciate about the simplicity is they have kept things simple....much like my old '67. In fact, several basic design elements have not changed much...such as how the floating deck works. They have been proven to work...and did very well on my old machine. Features I liked the most.... The mow in reverse switch, that I don't have to hit every time I back up....unlike Deere tractors. I don't want some damn attorney telling me how to operate my tractor! Excellent ergonomics...this is a very comforatable tractor to operate. The frame design...which I feel is a more solid design than the 12 guage frames on other tractors I inspected. The K46 Transmission was important, as this apprears to be a good unit and suitable to my needs. It was one of the key reasons I did not choose a deere LA model...as they are currently using the T40(?) if I recall. It's interesting that their is an active discussion on the K46's right now. I wonder if mine is the same used in the X300 deere's? The electric PTO is nice...I only hope it is durable. The tight 14" turning radius is very nice...especially compared to the wide turning radius of my old '67. The price....at $2100 for my unit it is a reasonalbe balance between box store machines, and higher end Deere's & Simplicities. It is well built & IMO the "moving" parts are designed to last longer than most box store machines, and very close to what you get in the x300. I liked the x300 very much. It is beautifully built, but the price was a bit more than I wanted to spend, and the basic frame, tranny & deck design did not appear significantly superior. The engine is however very nice. Overall I am very pleased with this new toy....Happieness is a new tractor :). I highly recommend to anyone looking that they put Simplicity on their list.

In my opinion, when major things start to go it's time to dump the machine. Are you going to stay with a TL? Personally I am not fond of the FL's. I have the GE Harmony. It's an HE TL. It has some of the same features as the FL's without a lot of the grief you read about. Whatever you decide, I would not only check Consumers Reports but also the threads on this forum. I think this forum is almost a better judge of the machines because people write about real life experience as opposed to laboratory testing.

Miele's North American offices (Canada, Mexico, and USA) are all separate in a sense that neither will ship or sell appliances cross border. If somehow you do manage to get an appliance "where it shouldn't be" while local Miele service *may* provide repair information and or provide that service, the latter is not covered by any warranty. The above goes for Miele appliances brought from Europe or elsewhere outside of the United States (or North America, etc..) to those shores. Depending upon where one lives and the model of appliance there may be difficulty in finding a local Miele repair person or tech that even knows that particular model. We know this because about a year or so ago someone was selling a Miele W918 (German version of W1918) in Conn. Was considering purchasing the unit but contacted Miele USA's customer service about parts, potential repair, etc... Miele USA informed us that at one point in time they did provide conversion kits for European units brought to these shores, and or supply service under standard Miele polices, but no longer. If a non-USA Miele appliance requires service they *may* provide (If parts can be found), but the work is not covered by any sort of warranty. So even if Miele does the work and the appliance either breaks down again a few weeks later or some such, you are out of luck. We were also told running Miele laundry appliances with 50hz requirements on USA's 60hz system is "hard" on them and Miele USA does not advise. This is important because if something happens to the motor or any parts of such an appliance Miele USA *may* claim "customer abuse" because the machine is not hooked up correctly. To bring all this palaver to an end, anyone considering bringing a Miele appliance from the EU or elsewhere to the United States should contact Miele USA directly to seek advice. If approval is given be sure to write down the name and other information of whomever provided for future reference. Miele USA has allot of new/younger customer service persons/techs that quite frankly will say almost anything to get one off the phone. When you go back someone else will say "no, that is not correct" or "Miele USA would never say that".

If you want to do garment sewing, you don't need the top of the line machine, but a machine with a nice assortment of about a dozen stitches will allow you sew just about anything. Below is a link to an article at Threads Magazine. You can download a PDF that compares a number of basic machines. Although this list may be out of date (new models have come on the market), it gives you a good idea of the types of features that you might want to look for. A machine with straight stitch, zig-zag, 3-stitch zig-zag, hem stitches, triple strength knit stitches (straight and overlock) and a button hole stitch will give you a lot of versatility. As an example, here's a Janome at AllBrands that has the bare minimum basic features I would consider: http://www.allbrands.com/products/abp08019-0847.html#Click%20for%20More%20Images Note that this machine has a metal body, so it won't be very light-weight; other machines have plastic bodies, which make them lighter and more portable. Some other features to consider are: adjustable needle position (left, middle, right) and automatic needle down, which this particular Janome does not seem to have; it's very basic. Testing the machine yourself is a good idea, to find out if there are features that you don't like. For instance, do you have to hold down the reverse button to lock stitches? If so, where is that button located? Is it in an inconvenient place? Only you can determine that for yourself by testing. Hope this gives you some more ideas of what to look for. CMC Also, check http://sewing.patternreview.com/ for a large assortment of sewing machine reviews. Here is a link that might be useful: Threads magazine - How to Buy a Sewing Machine