I have a working, unblemished thinkpad X61 and I’ve never seen a metal MacBook that hasn’t been dropped and dented. Dropping a MacBook on its corner basically ruins it. Plastic is the right material for a laptop.
I don't know about that. My old MacBook Pro (non-retina unibody) was dropped on a corner and the most annoying consequence was that in order to change the SSD I would have to angle it just right.
My current 2013 model does have its share of scratches and two small dents but it works as well as 6 years ago. I'd much rather have a dented metal case that stays together than a cracked plastic one.
The only cracked laptop I ever had was the titanium powerbook. Dropping a macbook on its corner tends to dent it in such a way that the lid can't completely close, which sucks a lot.
My current 2013 model does have its share of scratches and two small dents but it works as well as 6 years ago. I'd much rather have a dented metal case that stays together than a cracked plastic one.