jbf, I happily got mine from Tony at PopFlash, no regrets. The book has not yet been writted about how the Z-I withstands 50 years of use, but I admit not being all that concerned about passing it down to my descendants in working order. Leica has an impressive pedigree, and my M2 will turn 50 this year or next.
I find the Zeiss-Ikon M-mount camera easier to use, and generally more satisfying than some others. If anything I'm even more fond of the Minolta CLE, and I love 40mm & 28mm but when I wish to use 50 or 35mm the Z-I is the ticket. Or maybe the Konica Hexar RF... isn't it grand to have those choices?
I think the Z-I-M (what SHALL we call it?) is the first Zeiss Ikon camera to be called simply the Zeiss Ikon, and that raises a bit of confusion at some points. We need to be clear that it's the current M-mount model, not a Contessa or Contax, etc.
We solved that with the current Voigtlander Bessa by calling it Cosina-Voigtlander, or CV. "Voigtlander Bessa" also refers to an older folding 120 camera. Should we try CZ (oops another well-known brand) or CZI, as Cosina also makes this new Zeiss Ikon?
What if Ford introduced a new model (say, made for them by Mazda) called simply "Ford"... Your neighbor proudly tells you of his new Ford. "What kind of Ford" you ask. "Just says Ford on it, blue, 4 doors... has a Ford motor too!" Wow, you think, where are we? Confused! Call it the M-F...