The Forestry Forum

Ive been reading and hearing about the jan 1st 2010 restrictions on chainsaws are they or are going to be just as good as the older models like the 372 and the 576 are they going to be just as fast and just as strong as the older model thanks guys for your input

My guess is if it is anything like they have done in the past year or so is same power, heavier, more money.

Yep. The 2010 saws are (in some cases) smoother, have better gas milage, are cleaner, larger, and heavier, and in some cases a lot more spendy. By laws they are being changed to run cleaner (US) and smoother (EU). Compare the Stihl 361) and the 362):

Power:    1) 4.4 bhp           2) 4.6 bhp *Note that the EU 361 has 4.6 bhp, the same as the US 362 (purely a muffler issue). 
Weight:   1) 12.3 lb            2) 13.0 lb
P/Wt:      1) 0.358 bhp/lb    2) 0.354 bhp/lb   
Smooth:  1) 2.9/3.6 m/s²    2) 3.5/3.5 m/s²  left/right (362 is not much smoother, but it has better ballanced vibration)
Price:      1)$610                2)$690 *same dealer with same size bar and chain, prices vary in the US 

In the case of the 362 they also added the centrifugal air filter system to counter the ads that Husky runs about Stihls having bad AF (which is just BS marketing, but it seems to work and some do seem to be bothered by having to clean a 361 AF once a day).