I had a little Krups model 996...French Press and Expresso maker for over 10 years before it died in February...unfortunately they no longer make anything like it...So I have been looking for an Exptresso maker since then...everything I have seen in the department stores is basically junk.....
So I went on line in my search..I found a great website that really explains the pros and cons of the various machines on the market, and even has owner reviews on the machines...a great primer on the subject, well worth the time and effort to look it over even if U don't care about Expresso.
http://www.wholelattelove.com
While looking at the various machines...one machine just stood out as being heads and shoulders above all the others....and that is the machines built by Salvatore...they are HANDMADE machines using the best quality commercial machine components....one really nice thing is that they are built right here in the USA in Solvang, CA....now they aren't cheap....the Semi Automatic is $1475.00 and the Automatic is $1675.00....The gal I talked to at Salvatore said, "If you have an attention span of at least 40 seconds you don't need the Automatic, people like the electronics." So I plunked my money down on a Semi and in 4 to 6 weeks they will deliver a nice shiney new Expresso machine so I can start getting my daily fix again.... If you are a quality nut like I am, and I think most Porsche owners ar U will like these machines...
http://www.salvatore-espresso.com/