Aloha,
I suppose the reason why IM's have a substantial price increase over the other manufacturers is because it is not so much a VW Beetle, anymore. Yes, the drivetrain is the same between Bugs, IM's, JPS, VS, etc. But in my limited knowledge of lurking around the Speedster webpage and other sources, the IM costs more because they take things one step further. Roll-up windows, tube frames, etc. cost a lot more than VW pans. Of course, the car then loses points in terms of authenticity. I suppose it all depends on what you're going to do with the car. For me, I will probably be living in the PacNW by the time I can purchase one of these cars, so I would like to have roll-up windows and a few other features that I'm willing to pay for...to have a daily driver. If you live in SoCal or Hawaii...side curtains should do you perfectly fine. Probably wouldn't be worth the extra $$ for an IM.
I know roll-up windows seems a little trivial...but...rain is COLD in Oregon!
Theron - Do you frequent Spyderowners.com very much? I lurk over there as well, but that place has ZERO traffic. What gives? I'm assuming Spyder replicas just aren't as popular.
aloha,
Joel