stihl may not have "whored out" but their consumer saws are junk on a level par with or below a husky consumer model
companies with stock have a legal and moral obligation to the shareholders to make money
if you want a good stihl it needs to say made in germany
if you want a good husqvarna it needs to be an xp[/QUOTE
I wouldn't go that far as to it needing to be either a German made saw, or an XP husky. I have both, and i also have both american versions of their landowner, consumer grade whatever too and have no problems. Why not buy a pro saw if you can though, right? The key is though, make sure you buy them from a respectable, helpful dealer. They are no more expensive than the box stores and generally cheaper because of low overhead. I prefer husqvarna for a few reasons but my dealer makes all the difference when i switched back to husky from stihl. The owner is there everyday, with one mechanic and those are the two most dedicated guys i know to that business. They really go the extra mile to make sure i'm satisfied. When i bought my 365xt a few weeks ago, they not only sold it to me for nearly $100 off the msrp, but they realised it had a square ground chain, which they weren't supposed to be on there(i prefered it anyway) but husqvarna sent my dealer a brand new chain FREE to me for the saw because of the mistake. Also, I do enjoy the more advanced air filtration, anti vibration and lower weight of the Husqvarna's. But would take a stihl anyday as well. Like em both but husqvarna has the edge in a few places, Some people complain about the quality of new generation of husqvarnas but i believe they are great and have had nothing but production with mine. And they oil very well too. Also, the dealer sent out demo saws to the local fire departments who have been dedicated stihl users, well guess who just placed a big order of brand new Husqvarna's!
That says something right there if you ask me.