Read this on TCW. I share you fondness for things you can trust.
A while back, I had an obsession dreaming about old cars, including the Leyland Princess(*), which was crap by the way, so wouldn’t actually buy one. Rather, I owned two Vauxhall Cavaliers, both of which were trusty.
In many ways, new cars are much more reliable than old ones. However, I dislike all the new wireless gadgets, and prefer simple switches. For example, I have an electric scooter but had to install an app on my phone in order to turn the god-damn thing on. It’s not that I am old and stuck in the past, rather it’s just that I spent most of my career as a programmer, so know where things are going.
If I may, I wrote a fiction piece recently prophesying the future for automobiles:
Yes. There is something disconnecting when you can't just flick a switch or have some kind of mechanical interaction with the thing in question. Primary things I dislike in new cars are electric handbrakes (why? are we really SO lazy?) and button-starts.
Also, the Cavalier... not the sexiest car, but respect!
There is no doubt that today and for some decades, 'quality' is a word not used, let alone understood. We have a 40 year old fridge which still performs as it should and is vastly better made than the newer one which is beginning to fall apart after 14 years of use.
Standards have dropped for a variety of reasons. Quality is not a focus in our throw-away age; endurance means less profits; machinery is made poorly and spare parts no longer exists which means you have to buy a new one and standards on every count have fallen.
In an age when many think we have come so far, the truth is, we have only come a great distance in terms of the inferior, on many counts.
I saw something a while ago that made the following argument: it was in the 80s/90s that manufacturing processes became much more precise thanks to automation and other advances in technology. However, they didn't, at the time, have the computing power to make models like we to today, which can simulate the lifespan of a component through repeated heating/cooling/wear and tear and thus give it a specific lifespan. Before that kind of wizardry was available, manufacturers erred on the side of caution and ended up making incredibly robust products.
There was a bloke who did a million miles in an old Volvo. I would be surprised if any car made in 2022 does a million miles... the electric ones especially!
And the key factor, greed became the modus operandi and quality and standards went out the window. If something lasts for 50 years then you have less profit than if something lasts for 10. Mammon rules and quality is discarded.
The computer models also explain why things just do not work as well as once they did.
Congratulations on acquiring your new old motor. And welcome to the club.
Cheers pal!
Read this on TCW. I share you fondness for things you can trust.
A while back, I had an obsession dreaming about old cars, including the Leyland Princess(*), which was crap by the way, so wouldn’t actually buy one. Rather, I owned two Vauxhall Cavaliers, both of which were trusty.
In many ways, new cars are much more reliable than old ones. However, I dislike all the new wireless gadgets, and prefer simple switches. For example, I have an electric scooter but had to install an app on my phone in order to turn the god-damn thing on. It’s not that I am old and stuck in the past, rather it’s just that I spent most of my career as a programmer, so know where things are going.
If I may, I wrote a fiction piece recently prophesying the future for automobiles:
https://kuiperzone.substack.com/p/the-brigadoon-inn?s=w
(*) Today, I am dreaming about owning a Skoda Estelle.
I will check out the article, thanks!
Yes. There is something disconnecting when you can't just flick a switch or have some kind of mechanical interaction with the thing in question. Primary things I dislike in new cars are electric handbrakes (why? are we really SO lazy?) and button-starts.
Also, the Cavalier... not the sexiest car, but respect!
There is no doubt that today and for some decades, 'quality' is a word not used, let alone understood. We have a 40 year old fridge which still performs as it should and is vastly better made than the newer one which is beginning to fall apart after 14 years of use.
Standards have dropped for a variety of reasons. Quality is not a focus in our throw-away age; endurance means less profits; machinery is made poorly and spare parts no longer exists which means you have to buy a new one and standards on every count have fallen.
In an age when many think we have come so far, the truth is, we have only come a great distance in terms of the inferior, on many counts.
I saw something a while ago that made the following argument: it was in the 80s/90s that manufacturing processes became much more precise thanks to automation and other advances in technology. However, they didn't, at the time, have the computing power to make models like we to today, which can simulate the lifespan of a component through repeated heating/cooling/wear and tear and thus give it a specific lifespan. Before that kind of wizardry was available, manufacturers erred on the side of caution and ended up making incredibly robust products.
There was a bloke who did a million miles in an old Volvo. I would be surprised if any car made in 2022 does a million miles... the electric ones especially!
And the key factor, greed became the modus operandi and quality and standards went out the window. If something lasts for 50 years then you have less profit than if something lasts for 10. Mammon rules and quality is discarded.
The computer models also explain why things just do not work as well as once they did.