I've had a Spectra for many years now, and had no problems with it at all. It's lasted through hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms - and all I've had to do is to clear out the spring and connection every so often.
As to how well it performs on VHF lo - keep in mind this is a 2 foot antenna with loading coils. It works pretty well for a 2 foot antenna (and remember the top section can be cut and retuned - which I've done with mine for the 39 mhz area, where Md. State Police can be found).
It's just too physically short, as others have already mentioned, to be naturally resonant on that band. If all you're interested in is the 40 mhz area, a dedicated VHF lo antenna is going to beat this out every time. Any of the other multiband antennas - including the Spectra - is quite likely to be a compromise on 40 mhz.
Getting back to the Spectra for a moment, it's important with this antenna to have a very good ground plane. Many verticals are nothing more than one half of a 'dipole' - the metal underneath the antenna forming the other side of the format. I have a heavy duty Diamond NMO mount which I made sure the screws that hold it in place actually made a connection to the car body (a quick check with a cheap VOM to a bolt that holds the front seat in place confirmed it). It's quite likely that whatever you buy will also need a good ground plane, unless it's one of those no-ground plane types (there are many such antennas in the ham world, I wouldn't doubt there would be something like that in the commercial world). It's something to keep in mind. A poor ground connection will very likely have a detrimental effect on the performance of the antenna.
best regards..Mike