I never really cared for the shifter or clutch on my JK, I felt the feel of the friction zone was non-existent. I enjoyed the feel of the demo unit i drove, so much so that I switched immediately from the 2.7.
I have driven both and BB non-SAS and Badlands non-SAS. To me there was a noticeable difference between the two. Both had decent road manners, however the Badlands did much better on rough roads and construction zones. The difference was more subtle on decent roads, with the BL still providing...
I can confirm Ford is not sending out emails if your build week changed. I was scheduled for 9/13. I was rescheduled to 11/1, then 9/27 and am now at 10/11. No emails for any of the changes. Thankfully my dealer has filled me in on the changes.