Kitchen Aid stand mixer is the best on the market in my opinion. My husband purchased one for me in 1973 and I just replaced it in Dec. of 2011 with a smaller, lighter stand mixer. I ended up ordering a new Kitchen Aid from the Food Network Store in Sept. of this year. If a mixer lasts 38 years for use in both home and a cake shop, then it is the one I want in my kitchen. I no longer have the cake business but I do have a Kitchen Aid mixer!