Reputation

[Watto44]

There's nothing stopping blizzard from creating the ability to go directly into instances, say through the battlegrounds NPC method, or the "pug" stone method, to allow pre existing groups to enter instances, or to allow flight times to be near instant. Clearly it is possible to be done. Certain quests even launch you from winterspring to eastern plaguelands within seconds.
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Unfortunately, that would be yet another nail in the coffin of world PvP. While that's no big deal for some players - probably the majority - there would still be plenty who'd be outraged. Personally, I love stepping into BRM on the weekends, it always exciting. :D (On a side note: Please, please, PLEASE make SOME druid tricks work indoors. ARGH!) To my mind, the benefit of travel time is that it gives you a sense that your toon exists in the world, despite the increasingly fractured nature of instanced play. For me, that benefit out weighs the PITA factor of it. :)

Going back to the reputation thing. From someone who has just started their cenarian circle grind (yeah, I know, get with the program, that's sooo 2 months ago) I feel your pain. I quite like what blizzard did with the earlier factions, where honored was a base point or standard that was very attainable with moderate effort. Honored gave decent rewards and all that good stuff, while exalted gave more specific and special rewards. (Argent Dawn, for example. You'll get honored very easily, while exalted takes much longer but doesn't give huge returns on your time invested.)

However, I don't really like the feeling of the AQ20/40 reps (Cenarian Circle and Brood of Nozdrathingy respectively) where it feels like I "have" to get exalted in order to finish sets and what not. (That feeling may stem from the complete and utter sexiness of the Mace of Unending Life.) I don't like that reputation seems to have moved from an optional extra to a must-have.

Anyways, that's my two cents. Just poked my head out of the hive to chip in. ;)