is it just me or do some of the specifications to ships in warlords not actually match the performance in game? For example, I think I was using an mc-80, the one that has–according to the game–48 turbolasers and no ion cannons. But then when it starts shooting I see ion blasts everywhere. What's the deal?

From where did these specifications come from?

in the build menu. When you hold the mouse over that arrow to the left of the ship in question, a little bubble/window/popup thingy pops up and it has some data about the ship. Stuff like "48x turbolasers (class 5)" or "the mc-80 is a big freaking warship".