Exactly the subject I put forth a month or so ago. And for exactly the same reasons as OP. I don't want to keep piling tons and tons of commuting miles, esp. in bad weather, on my high(ish) end road bikes. Difference is I'm looking to go single speed and road geometry w/ drops. Since I want a similar setup, it is even harder to convince spouse since to her they look exactly the same.

Debates about what constitutes US "manufactured", "built", or "sold" aside... I too am astounded by the myriad models to choose from. It's a good time to be bike shoppin'!