Thinking about an R60 9456CTO (advice)

[smintier]

I've decided to purchase my first laptop. The R60 looks to be what I need, but after reading some horror stories about warranty service on this site and others, I thought I'd ask for some advice/opinions.
First of all, are thinkpads still as superior as they used to be? Has the purchase by Lenovo hurt thier quality? Basically I will take very good care of my laptop so the only thing to fear is defective or poor quality product or parts.
Warranty.
I found that the R60's available for purchase on the website only come with 1year parts/ 1year labor standard. Contrast this with the warranty info I found in another part of their web site.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... A9HCE.html

Warranties ranging from 1yr/1yr - 3yr/3yr - 4yr/4yr standard. What gives? Are the ones with longer warranties built with different, more reliable parts? And where do you find the other 10 models listed on this warranty page. I called Lenovo sales asking where to find these other models and the salesman just kept telling me that the CTO's are a better deal and I should just go to the website buy one there.

So what about purchasing warranties and protection from Lenovo?
Is it risky ? Do they have a reputation for doing the right thing or is it more the norm to get screwed over?
Thanx in advance for the help.
sminty