Pilots are equal caliber
Airwillie,
Take this example. You have 2 private students with 0 time. Student A is extremely motivated and willing to fly at least 3 times a week. Student B is not as motivated, and only flies once a week. Student A works hard and passes his checkride with only 45hours. Student B does not fly as often, and as a result needs to review old stuff on every flight. He finally gets signed off to take his private checkride at 80hours and passes. Who is a better pilot?
They are probably both equal. Even though one has 45hrs, and one has 80hrs, they worked to acheive the same standards. These fast track flight schools are FAST because there students fly and study almost every day. They will turn out pilots with fewer hours that meet the same standards as pilots who finish with more flight time. Obviously fast track flight schools are MORE expensive, but if you graduate with less time, it costs about the same to get your ratings. Plus it is done faster.
I think everyone agrees that the more time you spend in the air, the more things you are going to see, the more able you will be able to react to some emergency. But all in all, I think fast track CFI's meet similar standards as FBO CFI's do.