Yes, the PPCs are what help make the CS a joy to ride. Eliminating them is like removing the living room from your house. Yes, you can watch TV in the bedroom and cook/eat in the kitchen, but having a place to entertain and/or just relax is important too. Long distance trains need something more than being cooped up in a room for days on end. By making these announcements so late in the game puts their staff scrambling to make the changes (it's not as simple as removing the cars from the consist) but also does not allow any time for customer comments or time to consider them. Once the train starts to derail, it's pretty much an ugly train wreck (how's that for a good analogy?).