Any experience of BMW boxers, and in particular their gearbox.

[VNA]

Probably more reliable in the short term, but 6 years down the line will the gadgets still be 100% reliable and performing as the day the machine was new?

Probably.  This kinda reminds me of the first digital camera I bought.  It was a Canon 5D back in 2005, and it cost me 1900 quid.  Up until that point I had used film, slide, colour print and b&w developed and printed in my own darkroom.  Loads of folks told me that my camera would be obsolete in a couple of years time – of no use at all – fit only for the bin.  Well it was 2009 before the replacement model came out, which I also purchased and is still working flawlessly.  The 2005 model had one major repair, oh and the battery grip went in the bin.  The camera has seen a lot of use, it’s looks pretty shabby, indeed the grip got binned cos it took one knock to many – oh there’s a few marks on the sensor that cannot be removed.  But it still works, it’s still a good camera and I still use it now and again.  Impressive reliability.

I would hazard a guess that one of the root causes is cost cutting.

Yeah I agree.  But its gotta be more than that.  It’s a total quality control, engineering and cultural failure – and it is costing Boeing dear.  I think the most interesting factor is cultural – sadly these plane crashes would not have come as a complete surprise to all – how come those people  couldn’t get their message across.  Human behaviour is fascinating – and depressing.