Would not surprise me.  Are they right?  I know that's true on my
Supra TT, another "thoroughbred" that lets you know it's not really
happy until it's warmed-up.  However, as others have said, driving it
cold won't hurt it, just respect it's "desire" to be driven gently
when cold.

BMW tell me that my M3 is such a race-tuned machine that I should let
it warm up in cold weather otherwise it'll drive really bad for the
first mile or so...

The decision to drive or let it sit is driven by the cost of fuel.

Why let a car sit and run at 1500 rpm for several minutes when one can use
the same rpm's to get out of the neighborhood and half way to the freeway?

The idea that one MUST let a car sit is an old wive's tale. A car rolling
down the street taching along at 1500 is getting the same wear and tear as
the one sitting motionless in the driveway at the same tach reading.

The advantage of remote starting is that the car's heater can be switched on
when one exits the vehicle, then with remote start the heater comes on and
warms the cabin while you have toast and coffee.

I recently heard a discussion on remote car starters. One view is that
when a car is started in cold weather, it should be driven within a
minute or so. The opposing view is that you should let it sit for 5
minutes to warm up. Any views/insights out there?