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.

I did a lot of reading about mixers this summer, spending waaaay too many hours on the 'net :) Frankly, IMHO, the bottom line is all brands do a good job with cakes, icing, cookie dough, & whipping & creaming. Read the reviews online, visit the forums & it's the same story: most people love their mixer brand; a few people who bought the brand got a lemon & will tell you different. It's when you start kneading multiple batches of stiff bread doughs that a few brands stand out. The Cuisinart has a timer & a fold feature that sounds nice. A caveat I read about is that the bowl is tall & narrow, so when you fill it to its professed capacity, the batter is over the top of the beater.

I bought an atlas after ruling out the attachment for my KA. The main reason I ruled the other out because I thought the height of the attachment was awkward. I have always found cleaning the atlas to be a breeze. For ravioli I roll it into a thin sheet that I fold into half. I also prefer to cut the pasta myself so the different cuts were not a deciding factor for me. I also generally do the pasta dough in my food processor instead of the mixer.

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