While I'm a fan of flat bar road bikes, many point out that they aren't as fast as drop bar bikes and, accoringly, it's silly to spend $$$$ on one. I bought a $900 version of the Giant Rapid, that had a carbon fork, Tiagra shifters, and a carbon seat post. I felt those components added comfort and quality to the base model. Yet, the LBS didn't even stock this model--I had to order it. But, they had many of the less expensive versions of this bike.

The point is the LBS's realize it's silly to spend $$$$ on a bike like this, since the extra money won't make it competetive with a cheaper drop bar bike, given the wind resistance issue.