Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Christopher Tidy" wrote in message
...

Were products better in general back in the fifties, say, or were there a
mixture of good and bad? I'd be interested to hear people's opinions, as I'm
not old enough to remember myself.


In general, they don't make them like they used to and I am glad!

Take cars for example. My first car was a '55 Ford. It was a great car for
its day, but back then any car over 100,000 miles was a worn out wreck. It was
normal for many folks to trade cars annually. A 5 year-old car was considered
(and probably was) junkyard fodder. My Ford did make it to 100,000, but the
pistons were just about swapping cylinders, it was on at least its third
transmission, and its second rear end. Oh yes, my Ford was doing good to manage
about 8 MPG. As fond as my memories are of that car; would I want a car like
that today? Hell No!

This is interesting. I get the impression that there are two distinct
trends here, and they're pulling in opposite directions. Cars are
becoming more reliable and durable during their intended lifetime, due
to a number of factors such as better manufacturing accuracy, better
lubricants, electronic engine management, etc. But outside their
intended lifetime they are far harder to maintain. Which would you
prefer to have to maintain in 50 years time: a 2008 car filled with
electronics, or a 1927 Ford Model T?

Back then, there was at least one television shop in every neighborhood,
because the TVs of the day were lucky to go 6 months without a major breakdown.
Radios were much the same. All of us were amateur radio/TV repairmen. There
was a tube tester in every drug store, so the normal procedure was to pull all
of the tubes, test them, and replace any that tested bad in hopes that would
correct today's symptoms.

I believe this is largely due to the introduction of integrated
circuits. But again, when modern TVs do break they're often impossible
to repair. And I prefer analogue knobs for volume controls, etc. Buttons
annoy me!

I was in the tire business when the first real 20,000 mile tires came out.
That claim was so unbelievable that nobody would believe it at the time. Now
tires go three times as far.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

I remember someone saying that with modern tyres, you could leave a car
in a field and even in hundreds of years time, when the car has rusted
away, the tyres will still be there. Tyre technology has certainly advanced.

But there has nevertheless been a reduction in the amount of metal in
many products. Sometimes parts have just been made using less metal,
making them weaker and more likely to break. Other times they've been
replaced with plastic parts. Weak metal parts are bad because they break
more easily. But plastic parts are worse, because when they break you
stand no chance of satisfactorily repairing them. So there are certainly
ways in which we're going backwards, too.

Thanks for the thoughts. It has been an interesting discussion.

Best wishes,

Chris