15 years ago furnances were still somewhat affordable and easy to change. CVTs and direct injection were minimal to non-existent, and you could still buy your power tools and lawn mowers without the government telling you it was an environmental no-no.
My water heater was/is still simple. Just a dial to change the temp and drain it once a month. It lasts forever. Cost me $85 back in 2003.
Appliances still lasted and if you didn't buy all the bells and whistles, you could potentially get 20 or more years out of them. Our dishwasher, oven, microwave, and fridge all hit that benchmark. Even though they weren't particularly expensive or complicated.
As for cars, I can tell you from the quality study I co-developed that nearly every automaker has worse quality now than they did back then. Only VW and Cadillac have notably improved for obvious reasons.
I like progress. Really. I even like the potential of EVs although subsidizing it shouldn't be the government's business. I just wish 'affordable quality' was still as much of a part of the equation now as it was back then.
Am I echoing an age old gripe? Or do you think it's legitimate?
My water heater was/is still simple. Just a dial to change the temp and drain it once a month. It lasts forever. Cost me $85 back in 2003.
Appliances still lasted and if you didn't buy all the bells and whistles, you could potentially get 20 or more years out of them. Our dishwasher, oven, microwave, and fridge all hit that benchmark. Even though they weren't particularly expensive or complicated.
As for cars, I can tell you from the quality study I co-developed that nearly every automaker has worse quality now than they did back then. Only VW and Cadillac have notably improved for obvious reasons.
I like progress. Really. I even like the potential of EVs although subsidizing it shouldn't be the government's business. I just wish 'affordable quality' was still as much of a part of the equation now as it was back then.
Am I echoing an age old gripe? Or do you think it's legitimate?