h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In it's favour it was a much less expensive craft than the X-Wing, and was probably more reliable. Making it good to keep on hand if needs be. But I have been led to believe that the sheilds were significantly thinner than those on the X-Wing, as was the armour, as one journalist put it "Turns into scrap upon colliding with a fart". Am I mistaken?

These drawbacks of which you speak were only relevant to the context of comparing it with the x-wing. The z-95 is one of those vessels that were sent out in mass payloads. Quantity vs. Quality are the prime benefits of this vessel... because they were used so often and produced so readily, there are a number that still existed when the x-wing took over as "superiority fighter"

The fact that they can (and often are) taken out by a linked cannon Tie Interceptor shows that the technology in the Star Wars universe is indeed evolving.

I.E. a single Missle Boat (from the Tie Fighter expansion pack) could easily take out about 100 of these pesky fighters, shows: 1) progress was made to improve the design, thereby removing any "inferiority" the ships possessed, and 2) I am quite the geek.

Geek or guru? It is a thin line indeed

Here, here...my advice as a trained medical professional is that you need to drink more beer.