Author neglects selection bias: antiques that stopped working after 1 or 5 or 10 years have been in landfills for a long time.
My grandfather (1922-2006) opined: "Some folks say things aren't made like they used to be. But I remember those junky old cars that would break down every 50 or 100 miles. I remember that unreliable crap. I'd far rather have a modern car, even if I can't fix it." (He was more of a carpenter than an auto mechanic, built much of his own house)
I'm guessing a fair part of the population here on HN is too young to remember the Japanese takeover of the US market in the 70s and 80s. I remember my grandfather buying one and people still had the post WWII 'everything Japanese is junk' mentality going on. It was his first car to last 300k miles without an engine rebuild. Nothing US built was getting close to it at that time.
>> I'm guessing a fair part of the population here on HN is too young to remember the Japanese takeover of the US market in the 70s and 80s
I'm old enough to remember that, and from what I recall, the objections of people I knew to buying Japanese cars were not that they were junk, they were that in some of the places I lived growing up, working at an automobile assembly plant was the best occupational outcome that a large part of the population could realistically aspire to. If those jobs disappear, then what?
That was back when the Democrats were against free trade. That all changed, their argument being that trade would make us, in aggregate, better off, and if certain parts of the population were harmed by free trade, we could use the gains of the people that benefited from trade to compensate those who were harmed.
That all happened except for the compensate those who were harmed part.
> the post WWII 'everything Japanese is junk' mentality
Yup. Even into the 70s, "Made in Japan" was a putdown. That's just about when Japanese hi-fi equipment led the charge by quality products, soon followed by automobiles.
you were listening to people calling two mechanics with their car troubles... selection bias much? if you did a radio talk show with two Tesla mechanics today, out of the tiny population of people who listen to radio, you'd find a stream of Tesla owners who were having problems.
Also, btw, Tom and Ray did always always always point out that repairing was cheaper than replacing. Most repairs are pennies. (thousands and thousands of pennies)
The comparison I'd make is not to cars from the 20th century, but the early 21st, about the last your grandfather experienced. There's a vast difference in the quality of a car from 2005 or 2010 and the equivalent from 2023, and it's not favorable to the latter.
My experience with cars from
that generation of cars and modern cars is not at all similar to yours.
My 2003 Mustang V6 manual was a complete moneypit. The electrical system went in the first year, despite me taking it regularly for maintenance. There was no traction control and it used more gas for less power than my current minivan.
My parents' 94 Taurus rusted easily and their 02 oldsmobile alero was a pure shitbox that was uncomfortable to drive and was in the shop all the time.
My 2016 Sienna and 2019 Model 3 are, by all means, better cars. (I was using the train in the meantime, much less stress than driving was) I have had zero issues (outside changing to winter tires)
In short, a survivor bias. I didn’t thought about it and it is possibly true !
There is probably as much if not more things produced today that will last many decades, but the only one we see of the past are those which survived.
The concept of a regular “tune-up” has likewise fallen out. Older cars needed carbs adjusted seasonally, spark plugs replaced, caps and rotors, timing, etc. tires are genuinely incredible. A car over 100k miles used to be at the end of its life, now cheap cars routinely go double that.
Those are all things that are still in cars (or have been replaced with digital equivalents) but have become so reliable that we need to be reminded to check them. It’s not unreasonable to expect spark plugs to last 100k miles.
Back in Ye Olden Car Days, making it to 100,000 miles was a mark of competent ownership & maintenance, as applied to fundamentally sound engineering. Chevy small blocks could make it. Novas, Malibus.
But yes, along the way were regular hassles with engine timing and carburetor adjustments. You could DIY if you invested in a timing light and you knew what you were doing, but you could also just take it to a garage, back when indie garages could still regularly undercut ripoff dealerships.
My grandfather (1922-2006) opined: "Some folks say things aren't made like they used to be. But I remember those junky old cars that would break down every 50 or 100 miles. I remember that unreliable crap. I'd far rather have a modern car, even if I can't fix it." (He was more of a carpenter than an auto mechanic, built much of his own house)