It is funny how these things work and how guns in particular may be revived by the smallest of quirks.
the 1911 pistol was all but dead and only being carried or used by the last of the die-hards up until about 98 when the LA SWAT went back to them (Kimber) and there were several great write ups in the big magazines and Zowie, off they go and now everyone is building their version.
At the time, there were only three or four serious manufacturers or contenders in the field who were still making and even committing to new models now and then.
Now, every gun maker in the world either has their own model of the 1911 or is quickly planning to make one.
Colt was always the gun to go to, but then they forgot who brung em to the dance and left you and I out in the cold to concentrate on gummament contracts for the M16.
Springfield never left us and has always and I mean always been right, with the 1911 handguns. they still are and they make very quietly IMHO one of the finest, most durable, basic 1911 designs on the market. Of course now you can order them with all of the bells and whistles, but the basics are there, under all the paint and lipstick making them very hard to beat.
Kimber came along and began putting the bells and whistles on their models out of the box, so to speak and the prices in the beginning were very competitive to go with all the goodies. they are great guns but the price is nearly what one would pay for an entry level, "custom" 1911. Now it seems, they have made the same fatal error that all 1911 manufacturers make at one time or another, they are making them too tight while trying to be the best. This is causing some serious feed and eject problems with an uncomfortable number of the new guns off the shelf. We are having to return an inordinate number of them to be re-worked before they will perform the way they should. Yes, Kimber gives quick turn around time or Priority to those guns, but no one wants to spend 2 grand for a gun and then have to wait up to two weeks to get it out and back for repair.
I talked to them about this several times and I hope they will eventually get their ducks in the rows again soon.
Now Taurus and Sig and many others are entereing the 1911 race and it is a good thing as it will help to keep our prices in order "I hope" and hopefully it will also keep the R&D busy and cranking out new and better ideas for an old war horse.
So in the end, yes, they make them but many are new and some do not make their parts interchangeable. Remember, the great thing about the Colts and Springfields has always been that I could go to the window and order every piece that I wanted to add to my 1911 no matter what it was and I knew regardless of manufacturer, it would fit my gun. From th firing pin to the barrel and from the mainspring to the guide rod, they were all the same and it made it easy to have spare parts or to make a beautiful custom gun all by myself.
If you are going to stray from the basics, keep this in mind and the reason I say that is that every one of us who own guns, will at some point, "customize" or "personalize" our gun.
It would be very rude to find out that after buying one of these expensive new models I can only use their parts when and if they decide to make them at all.
I will stay with the originals for now, such as my new Springfield or the Kimber if I were to change to something other then my Springfield.
I like the looks of and the warranty given by Taurus as well. But then I think about the "basics" the guts and backbone of the gun and I just naturally go back to the original. But that is just me.
Food for thought.
UF