Ed Huntress fired this volley in
:


My suspicion is that they're doing it right. Nostalgia for fixing and
adjusting my S.U. carburetors (carburettors, I guess) on my mother's
kitchen table isn't enough to overcome the fact that I had to do
*something* with my old cars almost every week.


I'd say they are. Even though the purchase cost of autos has gone up vs
real income, the _usage_ cost has plummetted. Most cars of the 1960s and
early 70s required things like valve jobs every 30K; not a minor cost to
someone who could not do the work themselves. Now, it's common to go
200K without a major repair, and only the 'timing belt issue' to deal
with in the interim. "Tune-ups"? Phhhfffttt! Thing of the past. A car
can easily go 100K without even looking at the plugs.

Everything about modern cars works better, is more comfortable, and lasts
FAR longer than those of even 40 years ago. They're more efficient with
fuel and lubricants, and they're far safer.

Some of it was government intervention. Some of it was innovation.

To me, all the above are signs of engineering excellence, regardless of
how difficult the vehicles might be to work on.

Lloyd