Judging from product photos, the new 40' AAR box appears to be a sterling effort at better, finer detail, fully in line with Bachmann's overall improvement in product quality. But, pray tell, why was the post-1969 medallion used on the UP version? It would have never been correct for the "Automated Rail Way" lettering on brown cars, as the "Automated" slogan was dropped in favor of "We Can Handle It" shortly after "Railroad" disappeared from the medallion. I.e., there were no "Automated" repaints of the now-old 40' cars using the post-1969 logo.
[sigh]
Why do we have this knack for doing such a great job on stuff, and then blow it on big eye-catchers?
I can't say this was Bachmann's reasoning, but often times decisions are made with marketing receiving higher consideration than historical accuracy. In the case of this particular car, I would almost be willing to bet that most people would say "that's a nice looking car" and end the conversation there.