Well, the new Craftsman 12 inchers run about $1500 I think, so I doubt people are upgrading. The old 12 I linked to I know nothingabout, but that one is pretty dang rusty.
Craftman does have a fair share of products made on the same lines as Ryobi. In fact the BT3100 that I have in my shop is discountinued, but still available as the Craftsman 21829 now. Great saw for the $300 that I paid, not so great at $500 but still a fair deal as the precision that it allows doesn't get match until you hit the $800+ range. Not everyone likes it, but it does a very good job. I knwo that when I upgrade, it'll be to a European still saw in the $3k+ range, not one of the American styles.