... As I see it, only the PMDG 737NGX stands a chance at dethroning the Maddog.

+1 !!

Nothing is going to "de-throne" anything else for me. I love flying them all. The Maddog is a great MD80 and I'm perfectly satisfied with it. That is why I would love to see PMDG develope a Boeing 717. They already have the system and panel created with the MD11. With a few adjustments, all they have to do is make the exterior. It would be a quick "pop" with some great response, since a lot of people are looking for a high quality 717.Airtran, Quantas and many other carriers are still using the 717.

Fortunately, PMDG is not the kind of company that goes for "quick pops"...

Nothing is going to "de-throne" anything else for me. I love flying them all. The Maddog is a great MD80 and I'm perfectly satisfied with it. That is why I would love to see PMDG develope a Boeing 717. They already have the system and panel created with the MD11. With a few adjustments, all they have to do is make the exterior. It would be a quick "pop" with some great response, since a lot of people are looking for a high quality 717.Airtran, Quantas and many other carriers are still using the 717.

I think you are grossly underestimating how much work it would take PMDG to make a 717, especially if they wanted to do it to the level of the NGX. On another note, the Leonardo MD is fantastic. It really is a believable simulation and feels like a "living" aircraft, especially in the flight dynamics and systems simulation areas. I can somewhat "feel" the control surfaces tighten up with speed and get mushy when it is slow despite no real pressure on my yoke.

I think if they had a larger team, they would have been able to make more aircraft in a little less time for our benefit and for them as well. So why not to make it even a much bigger company? Just my thought. But maybe there is a lack of qualified developers to work for a company like PMDG?