Quote:
Originally posted by jshorva65
How many auto mechanics and used car dealers would be in business if cars were made the way tv sets are made now? I predict that cars will be the next item to become "disposable" if the trend continues. There is still a market for ten-year-old cars because everyone wants a car, not everyone can afford a new one, and cars are still built to last longer than their warranties. A good market existed for ten-year-old tv sets when they were still built to last ten years for the same reason.
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Okay we're way offtopic for this one, but here goes....
I hate to tell you this buddy, but it's already well past that point. I'm seeing cars in the junkyards that aren't wrecked and only 6-7 years old. I restore antique cars on the side and am loathe to think of what the hobby will be like in 10-20 years with the proliferation of specialized sensors and computerized circuits that are only available from the manufacturer yet shut the car down if even the slightest problem is detected. The amount of plastic is awful in new cars. Ever look at a 20-year old GM? They didn't UV stabilize the plastic, so literally everything with a plastic clip or a molded rivet is falling off. Nothing you can do about it either. They don't use screws to put together the interiors of cars anymore...it's all clips and friction joints. Make it cheap and easy to manufacture and just get it through the warranty period....
I drive a Volvo 240 that is probably the last over-engineered car that can be worked on without special equipment (except a couple of suspension bushings...grrrr). But newer volvos aren't even the same. The 960's/S90's are notorious for corroding blocks that leak, valves that stick open, and oil consumption. Try to rebuild? Nah....the piston ring kits alone are $2000 IF you can get Volvo to sell them to you. Not all parts are available from the dealer, much less in the aftermarket areas.
Go to the Chevy truck forums at
http://forums.pickuptruck.com/postli...=&Board=UBB11. Boatloads of threads about massive engine failures on 2-3 y.o. trucks, and just as many about BRAND NEW gas engines that sound more akin to Diesels (complete with example sound files!).
A buddy of mine who works at the GM plant nearby in the design engineering area. They actually have people hired to DESIGN LIFESPAN LIMITATIONS into parts. Excuse me? They *want* it to fail? They're designed to be low maintenance to please rental and fleet buyers (their biggest sales segment) and who cares beyond the initial ownership. Service and parts are highly profitable to automakers. That responsibility falls in the consumer category -- fleet & rental don't keep cars more than about 3 yrs typically.
Computer modeling has taken all forms of electrical and mechanical engineering and allowed the tolerances to be so close that the day it will die can be predicted with fairly certain accuracy. Remember how they used to determine the wattage of a resister and double it for safety.....no more! The computers can tell them that all scenarios say that no more than a x.yzqr% "nudge" factor is the closest required. Bearing needs to be s.tuv millimeters thick for n rotations meaning x months/years before failure? For each fraction of a cent they save, multiply that savings over 3 million units sold worldwide.....a lot of those partial cents vehiclewide add up and we all know vehicles are made by accountants and not engineers these days <wink nudge>
Anything without a limited lifespan creates a lost revenue stream. Everyone wants to go to the holy grail of corporate America -- the subscription model, where the customers pay frequently. All corners of modern industry are looking for ways to FORCE people to buy a new one of whatever it is they're selling. It's like a disease or something
Peace,
ha1156w