The spamcan market, as in going from A to B, has been dead on its feet for years. It's been kept standing up by U.S. consumer inertia, patriotism (not saying that's a bad thing), and ultra conservative attitudes in the GA market, especially in the USA
So what you're saying is it's not dead on its feet; people still buy their airplanes.
What we are seeing is mirrored by what happened in commercial aviation. A brand new airliner looks about the same and has about the same performance (except fuel burn) as a 50 year old one. It's on the inside it looks totally different.
In my view, you don't tell a modern aircraft from an obsolete one by looking at how far its rivets protrude. You look at what's on its panel. And there, interestingly, I think the US is way ahead of everyone else when it comes to embracing and levaraging new technology. Think about GPS approaches, think about weather and traffic data links.
Furthermore, if you buy a Cessna today, you can even choose: Brand new airframe design and brand new cockpit, or well tried airframe design and brand new cockpit. C182T or 350; they are both availale.
