if you want quality you have to go with the powerbook. going between the powerbooks and the ibooks in the store, the powerbooks are built so much better. you can feel it in the keys and in the casing. i have no doubt that it performs well, but to me the extra price for slightly more power, a better screen, and better build quality, id definatley go for the powerbook.

as for the car references, the iBook is like Pontiac Grand Prix GTP, quick drives well and cheap. unfortunately so is the build quality. the powerbook is more like a BMW 5-series, quicker, drives better, and a lot more expensive. but you get what you pay for in build quality. that's my take on it.