Obvious is a poor choice of words. It is biased and unrealistic. Just sayin. I think what you meant to say was POPULAR in certain circles. That is more accurate.
If this were the case, there would be no other brands. There are other brands, not because people are too stupid to listen and buy one of those three, but because for whatever reasons, people buy what they need/want.
Anyway, I'm just calling it as I see it. It's like a Ford/Chevy argument. Each will try to convince someone theirs is better, when there's little difference at the end of the day. Can we just call it bias and be done with it.
And for the love of god, if someone buys something other than one of those three, just say congrats and move on, don't spend 40 posts telling the poor guy he's wrong. He comes here with some good news, spends a lot of money, then is told what he SHOULD have done, if he did any research or had a brain, the subtext of almost every post of that type.
Can't we look for the positive rather than berate someone making a different choice?
To close, when I bought a Simplicity I found it superior to all those brands, Ariens, Honda (overpriced), and Toro. In fit and finish, construction, and performance. Am I too stupid to see the truth? Just wonderin'.
As the saying goes, opinions are like ____________ everyone has one and they all stink.