[widebody911]

I wonder if the binary viability of modern batteries is due to the car than to the battery itself; in my older cars, I still get the classic dying battery symptoms - slow to start, dim headlights, etc. When the original battery in my 2003 M3 died earlier this year, it was fine one day and dead the next - no warning whatsoever.

From my own personal experience and internet anecdotes, modern batteries don't last as long, either - some major change was made such that you only get 2 or 3 years before they die off.