Disclaimer: I have a KitchenAid blender. I only paid 5x for it, so I didn't have to pay the Vitamix guerrilla marketing part of the deal. But yes, expect something several multiples over the nickel-and-dimed stuff.

The high-end blender lines of both brands are made domestically, and rate at the top in Consumer Reports. I can vouch that both are pretty quiet in operation, for what are essentially food-violence machines.

Just because it's a German brand like Bosch doesn't mean it's made in Germany, from quality parts, so, buyer beware.