I've seen more cracked cylinders on the continentals than the lycomings. The rope trick was invented for continentals (not really, just seems that way sometimes).
You can replace one exhaust at a time on the 150. It's more expensive on the 152. Who needs a rear view mirror anyway. Climb rate is lower with the 150. 40 degrees of flaps is superb.
Cherokee 140s are nice, too. with two people, you can still put more baggage in there. You shouldn't spin a cherokee. The 150hp lycoming in the cherokee burns more fuel for only a marginal increase in performance.
There are pros and cons, as you know. I love my 152. On a cool day, just me, half tanks, rotate at 50 and hold 54 KIAS to 2 or 300 feet produces a really nice deck angle. You can't go wrong with any of them. They will all make you poorer, but happier.
Sincerely,
