I disagree that a 1 1/2" spindle bore is too big for a lathe of this size. 1 1/2" diameter round material is not at all too heavy for a 250 to 350 pound lathe to work on, and anyway much of the reason for the 1 1/2" bore would be to allow a collet closer for 5C collets and in that case the actual workpieces would be quite small.
And there may be limiting competition in some parts of the country from used American machinery, but not where I live. There is nothing at all available locally, and I would much prefer to order a new machine with some sort of warranty and standardized ordering procedures and known shipping costs over bidding on unknown used lathes on eBay from afar. Sellers on eBay almost seem to take some fiendish glee out of their horrible fuzzy photos taken without even wiping loose chunks of dirt off the ways and tables of their merchandise. And I'm a professional machinist... how many guys just starting out in machining have the confidence to judge good machines from worn-out ones, or to know what will prove repairable an what will not, even if it was sitting right in front of them? In addition, a lathe combining the compactness and large spindle bore I'm thinking of has never been produced by any American manufacturer to begin with. Its manageable weight and versatile capabilities would put it in a class by itself.
I corresponded with Bob at Lathemaster on this very subject a few years ago. I know Lathemaster is not doing the volume of Grizzly, but he told me he had asked the Chinese factory to make many of the changes I suggested and they would not. Just a month or two ago I spotted a small lathe with a large spindle bore advertised on Alibaba.com. I repeatedly contacted the Chinese exporter advertising it, by more than one means, expressing an interest in importing it to the US but got no reply. Apparently that exporter only exports to African and South American countries, and maybe has no knowledge of US import procedures. Though I would have thought figuring that out would have been mostly my responsibility. I never could determine who the actual manufacturer is.
Another basic criticism I have of all imported lathes is that they come with 3-jaw chucks that are too small. The chuck diameter should be within 60% to 75% of the swing of the lathe or you are just wasting the machine's capabilities. An 8 inch lathe should certainly come with at least a 5 inch chuck, for example.