Tim: Don't worry about catching flack buddy, you know what they say about opinions, "We all have em' and they all stink."
Replicas are glass, Cobras are aluminum. End of story. It blows my mind when manufacturers do this...
OK, OK, I'm yankin' your chain. But come on...
You mention engineering, the BDR is engineered to be one of, if not the best driving cars available. It took 92" inches to achieve it. ERA is known for origionality(don't make me bring up the glass thing again) and that is thier market. Different cars lend to different buyers. The BDR is built to drive, on and off the track.
Resale, now that's a different subject. The only cars you see given away is kits that were thrown together to begin with. Otherwise, these cars do very well on resale and they stay close to the origional purchase price. An SPF will always sell for $12K more than a Backdraft for as long the there is a $12K difference in the retail. Both are excellent cars, one just takes more to get it off the showroom floor, that's why there is a price difference on resale.
Also, in a different category, if you have to build a car yourself then I agree that a non-donor FFR is a good choice.
Boudy