Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'd say the above statement is a clue to the changes we've seen in the quality of most consumer products. Industry and advertisers have succeeded in molding a new kind of consumer, more transient, less educated, more tolerant, less demanding, a far different people have emerged from those days of consumers demanding quality. Every aspect of your life is geared toward working, allowing less time for the pursuit of doing anything else well.
I worked on cars from my earliest adult years to age forty three, in that time I saw the rise of fuel milage becoming the main consideration in the choice of car to buy. The material quality in automotive building is much better, rust proofing is now integral to the material, carbon fiber, fiberglass, plastic, etc, and yes these are also part of that ability to get forty miles to a gallon.
Fit and finish is much better due to robotics and CNC aided assembly techniques. We used to do some real cowboying to get things to fit on American cars, today most cars are equal in the fit and finish be they Japanese, German, Korean or American, robotics has been the equalizer.
I still have a TV I bought eleven years ago, it works fine, the salesman said I could expect five years on average of good use. Of course manufacturers can't allow their product to last too long, it's all about the economics of obsolescence and the mindset that is prepared to accept the continuous "improvements" we've come to worship.
Overall, I'd have to say I'm somewhat confused about the constant drive to buy things, at my age (64) it's getting to be a bit of a task keeping up with all the new devices that we hear so much about. I don't have GPS, no HDTV, A cell phone in the car for emergencies, the quality of products and the quality of our lives have come to a crossroads, we'll need to sort out the differences in the coming of a much poorer world.
I don't have any of these things either, poster (I'm 65), and I'm not really sure why I need any of them.
You're certainly correct that products are engineered to fail so that consumers will continue to buy things just to keep people working.
I have a Radio Flyer Little Red Wagon that somebody was throwing away because the plastic wheel busted. A few phone calls and $30 later I had new steel wheels from the company. They said they gave up on the plastic because it kept breaking. This is an American company (Wisconsin?) that improved its product and makes parts available. BTW this is a kids toy that is really useful for hauling in groceries, carting stuff for the garden and general hauling. Buy one, you'll like it.
Speaking of toys...When I was a kid (I'm female) Barbie toys came completely constructed, AND DECORATED, etc. When my daughter was young, I was completely floored at the cost of the toys that came in a box that "THE CONSUMER" had to actually take hours to put the stupid thing together and then decorate! That was like adding insult to injury. The toys were definitely made with less quality, but then "I" had to put them together AND decorate them with all the stickers, cardboard fake backdrops and plastic flowers. UGGHHH! Drove me nuts...and all this...and it costs MORE??? Something is wrong with that picture. LOL
Radioflyers...I have to agree. They almost aren't a toy! I saved my daughters and STILL have it. They are GREAT in the yard pulling out all the yard supplies. MANY uses for them.
When i look that I paid one hundred dollars for a top side by side for my mother in law than I paid for the same in 1963 for my parents ;and that a dishwasher is much cheaper;I'd say who cares really.I do think compared to the 60's cars are very well made and get great performance while running very smooth and have many luxuries. But over all they have more than tripled in price.
When i look that I paid one hundred dollars for a top side by side for my mother in law than I paid for the same in 1963 for my parents ;and that a dishwasher is much cheaper;I'd say who cares really.I do think compared to the 60's cars are very well made and get great performance while running very smooth and have many luxuries. But over all they have more than tripled in price.
They haven't tripled in price if you adjust for inflation and buying power of the avg. citizen.
I'd be surprised if it doesn't turn out that cars of better standard than yesteryear are actually cheaper today, when adjusting for what I mentioned above.
Same goes for most consumer appliances, TV's being a great example, Computers being another.
Has anyone else noticed this? I don't care WHAT you buy nowadays, it is cheaply made. We are suppose to be improving things with technology, yet nothing lasts. I still have appliances my grandmother owned and they work perfectly fine. Buy something new today and if it lasts 5 years you are lucky. What's up with that? Are we cutting corners to save on the building or is it JUST the out-sourcing to other counties? and if that is the case, then what about vehicles made in the USA that have had their own issues.
Where is the integrity in what we purchase nowadays?
Okay cars are made better. But for the most part it seems that we pay more for less. The coffee at my favorite coffee shop gets a little weaker, the paper towels I order at work are thinner, the new electric space heater quits working after a year.
I think economic cycles (recessions/inflation) are partly responsible. Many businesses will resist raising prices (for a while), but still need to increase revenue to cover their own higher costs.
It does seem that everyone wants as much money as possible for whatever product they are selling--while producing that product as cheaply as possible.
They haven't tripled in price if you adjust for inflation and buying power of the avg. citizen.
I'd be surprised if it doesn't turn out that cars of better standard than yesteryear are actually cheaper today, when adjusting for what I mentioned above.
Same goes for most consumer appliances, TV's being a great example, Computers being another.
I bought a 81 siverado for 12000 out the door. in 89 that same siverado cost me 19000 out the door. Quite a rise if you ask me. Certainly more than most things rose. It was from the materials either.I thnik we now see that with the contracts that auto makers sign why cost rose.The cost rose while at the same time other things actaully dropped evenb adjusted for inflation and it was because of better qaulity as has been demonstrated by experience.GM;Ford and Chrysler didn't lose market sahre over time because they improved quailty even they admit now.
Has anyone else noticed this? I don't care WHAT you buy nowadays, it is cheaply made. We are suppose to be improving things with technology, yet nothing lasts. I still have appliances my grandmother owned and they work perfectly fine. Buy something new today and if it lasts 5 years you are lucky. What's up with that? Are we cutting corners to save on the building or is it JUST the out-sourcing to other counties? and if that is the case, then what about vehicles made in the USA that have had their own issues.
Where is the integrity in what we purchase nowadays?
One thing that has improved markedly is highway construction.
One thing that has improved markedly is highway construction.
Not the end of the world, but it's something.
Would that be in Omaha?
Funny you should mention highway construction, I can tell you, I see the highways being replaced...and they are no more done and the road is broken up and they are doing it again. I was thinking they were purposefully building crappy roadways for job security. That also gets me thinking and brings to mind the Crosstown Expressway in Tampa and the BigDig in Ma. Crap construction that caused millions in repairs when the construction was so crappy that it failed before it was even completed. Looking back, at say bridges in specific, and some of our oldest and most famous are built with such integrity that they have had no issues of all these years.... I don't think you made your point. I truly see crappy roads being constructed...at least in the south.
In New Zealand they use volcanic matter in their roadway materials...it is UNbelievable the roads are awesome!!! Everywhere I went the roads were in perfect shape, I finally started asking about it and they stated they use volcanic matter and it makes for a much stronger roadway. Must be true and maybe we could see how viable that would be for us Not sure what the closest source would be tho.
^^ We always have to keep in mind the climate in which roads are being built. Extreme cold absolutely destroys roads.
We also have to keep in mind the amount of traffic, and what kind of traffic goes pounding over said roads. One fully-loaded semi truck does more damage to a road than 100 cars.
So to take a rarely traveled old road in the south, and claim superior construction because it's in so much better condition than (say) Interstate 90, is a moot point.
Regarding bridges... Yes, SOME of the old ones were constructed with such quality and integrity that they're still in incredible shape. The problem with that argument is that the ones that were NOT so well built have long-since collapsed, and we've forgotten about them. Let's keep in mind, for instance, the collapse of the 35W Bridge over the Mississippi in downtown Minneapolis a couple years ago. The new bridge is a hundred-fold better bridge.
Another thing we have to take into consideration, regarding road construction, is how they're built to handle the local weather. Roads in the North are now being built higher, with lower ditches, so that they don't get piled over with massive drifts every time we get 4" of snow.
It's things like that which lead me to the clear conclusion that roads are better constructed now than in the past.
I agree, today's goods are much more shoddy than years ago. My mother had some copper bottomed Revere wear that lasted years and years. Made in the USA. Heavy gauge. I ordered a set on line (my mistake, couldn't hold it in my hands and feel the weight/quality) last year--and it was crap. Made not in the USA. Very thin, probably a third of the weight of my mother's set. It cooks okay but I know I cannot expect years of wear from it.
What's made better? Coffee! Coffee tastes a lot better than the swill of my parent's generation, IMHO.
Things are designed to wear out these days. Or else we can pay for top of the line items and get quality. Previously, middle income folks could buy tough, well-crafted items. No more.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
MANY uses for them.
. I don't think you made your point. I truly see crappy roads being constructed...at least in the south. 