Of course this doesn't mean that there won't be a wide variety of low price grills at your local hardware store. Char-Broil is putting a lot of emphasis on its Big Easy Grill. This three-burner grill comes with three separate cooking zones, a porcelain grate for grilling, a porcelain cast-iron griddle and a porcelain cast-iron deep dish for frying and cooking things like rice. You can also get it with the optional rotisserie burner. The base model will run you around $200 to $220.
You will still see grills with the Sunbeam brand name on them this year though probably not as many. Sunbeam, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a few years now, has downsized its Sunbeam Grill factory and cut back on production. In fact Sunbeam tried twice in the last year to sell of the Sunbeam line to other companies. One of those companies was the Weber-Stephen Corporation, maker of Weber grills.
As for Sunbeams other line of grills, Coleman, they are still producing at full speed. The recent incarnation of the Coleman grill has proven to be very successful and has captured a good portion of the market since they were first introduced in 1999. This year Coleman will be introducing a new grill, the 9000i Console Grill. This interesting looking grill has two side burners and a 513 square inch main cooking area. It will be available in July of 2002.
Also in the lower price range is Fiesta Grills. This Canadian company produces grills for both the Canadian and American markets (through an American subsidiary) with prices range down to around $150. Fiesta is the only grill manufacturing company that actually produces every single part on the grill. You will find them at many hardware and department stores. While they don't appear to be anything special many Fiesta models actually out perform brands like Sunbeam, Charbroil and Kenmore in similarly priced models.
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