That IS funny. Personally, I can't take Fender seriously even though I've played several over the years. (rebuild and mod HUNDREDS of brand new ones and you'll see things from my standpoint) I have a couple of Roger's guitars (a strat which was stolen, and a custom tele) and I can't look back at the mass production stuff. As a builder, I see errors in guitars all the time, but I don't see them in works by Sadowsky, Suhr, Grosh, and many other top builders. The tightness of work by my "peers" keeps me in check.
The odd thing is that I chose to build basses for several reasons, but one of the main ones had to do with the fact that I had freedom to introduce original designs without bogarting blueprints from Leo and Les. I begrudgingly introduced the Junk and now I'm pretty much cranking them out all the time. Consumer mentality informs commerce.
Anyway, enough off topic nonsense. You get what you pay for with Roger. The NYCs are as flawless as any hand made instrument can be - and YES: they are hand made despite the rough cnc stage before all of the real work. If the NYCs are out of your budget, I think the Metros are an amazing value despite the fact the price tag is way above an SX or an MIM. You truly get what you pay for!
Strange though, as a guitar player I'm used to the aesthetic of a strat or tele, and I stick to it, admittadly close minded in many regards...