I'm goign to agree with you Todd. When I got into cigars, it was suggest to START with the venerable old brands, but once you got yourself going on those, there was a point where you move on to the hottest, most spoken about cigars.
I can't remember when I last smoked one of the regular "old" brands. And to be honest I never seem to think about it except when you post!
Do I see some of the new guys lasting for 20 years? I don't know. I don't think even a country wide ban on smoking would stop me, but it will eventually hurt those smokers who haven't started yet.