I was in Stuart, Florida a couple of months ago, and one of the FBOs at the airport had just purchased a few brand-new 172s, with the intention of offering basic flight instruction to the well-healed non-pilot owners of private jets based there.
Personally, I would rather save approx. C$50 per hour and fly a less well-equipped (but still in decent shape) 172N; I don't see much benefit from fancy GPS, fuel injection, and whatever other bells and whistles the new models feature. However, certainly the intended customers have the cash, and they probably won't mind paying a bit extra for the privilege of flying a new, well-appointed aircraft. After all, if you can operate your own Challenger, renting a 172 isn't going to seem like much, no matter how new the model.
