First of all, great review @David B thanks again for posting and so nicely made! I also second @CyberGene comment about how nicely you play!
Second, thanks to you and @porco_rosso for the comments about the various options in this price range. This exact conversation was my goal for my ill-fated "best piano under xxx" thread series.
Finally,
porco_rosso I am waiting for a VPC2 with GF3, the Kawai pedal unit and the VPC velocity editor.
That is not going to happen. If at all, there will be either a VPC2 or a MP12 with the GF-compact. Even the lowest tier of cabinet pianos of the CA series now use the GF-compact, there is no chance that the larger/heavier/more-expensive GF3 will be used on a portable instrument, where weight and size is paramount.
Moreover (but this is my speculation) I think that Kawai expected much larger sales for the VPC1 and was disappointed by the numbers. As such, I think they have abandoned the model, like they did with the CE series (which also was very good, at an intermediate level between the CN and CA). They kept selling the CE series for years after they had decided to discontinue it, the fact was clear because they did not get updated like the other series.
After all, people who need something like the VPC could always buy an ES or an MP which I think are more profitable for Kawai. The fact that Yamaha and Roland do not sell anything similar to the VPC1 also tells that's it's a niche instrument, and as such hard to justify for Kawai, which I think sells in much lower volumes even the most successful products, and as such it does not so easily get back the investment in R&D an manufacturing setup.
