John,
Hope I do not offend any LNVTs on this site, but here is my 2 cts worth.
2 years when I was shopping, I looked seriously at two 37' VTs, one in LA, and one in Seattle. There seems to be a bit of a cult built up around these boats and there is a great deal of information on them on the VT website. For some time, in the past anyway, this cult has arbitrarily inflated the price, though I believe the market and reality is finally beginning to change that. The pricing was what ultimately drove me away from any of them.
The 37' ones that I looked at, I would not consider to be coastal cruisers because as Eric says, they are shallow and rather round bottom and have a reputation for rolling. Some folks have had stabilizer fins added that they claim helps a lot.
I was of the impression that they were pretty well built.(at least compared to a lot of junk out there)
My understanding and the ones that I looked at had Cummings engines. They came either as 100 or 150hp. Do not recall any BMW motors. The other issue, in my opinion, was engine room access. The engine sits mid-vessel behind a swinging door in the galley - a neat feature, but I thought questionable for access.
I especially liked the Pilothouse design - had a great view. I was looking for a Pilothouse in this size, but again as Eric says the "exaggerated" tug shape was a downside I think.
I was looking to only have one Pilot station to maintain, one that had a good high view.
Final thought: go take a serious "hands-on" look at one and I think you will decide very quickly if this is a design you can live with or not.
JimS