MFAFF -- thanks for the well-thought out answer. That's very helpful. Also thanks to Isabo and Moses for the quality info. It's good to know that if I decide to spend $1500 on coffee making paraphanalia (rather than say, torsion bars, bushings, and tires), I'm not totally wasting my money on a pretty badge on the front of the machine (like I sometimes feel like I did with the car).
dmoolenaar, that's quite an explanation. It has a ring of truth, but being a nuclear engineer, I've pulled off better stories in front of people who really should have known better. Something tells me if I decide to pass that along, I'm going to need a pretty good sized shovel ...
In the meantime, I'll just keep dismantling and cleaning my espresso machine from time to time.
Dan