Why manufactors make five year vehicle parts. Some folks work hard to afford a vehicle.?

Question

Do you think one day they'll make something that will last families a life time or will they consider money or human life.

Answer 1

Well, let's look back a few years and see what's been going on.

My dad bought a new car the year I was born. 1952. It was junk in 1957, when he bought another one. That was trash in 1963; rusted out almost completely. The 1963 lasted until 1969 and was ready for the junkyard when it was totalled. The 1969 that replaced it was pretty well shot in 1975.

Up through about 1975, cars were worn out in about 5 years or 100,000 miles. Modern cars will easily serve for 250,000 miles or more with basic care. We've made a heck of a lot of progress in the past 15 - 20 years.

Will we ever see a car that will last a lifetime? Well, in a way, almost any car would last a lifetime if cared for properly. Heck, that old 1963 Country Squire could have been maintained well enough to still be serviceable. But who in all honesty would want to drive around in a 1963 Ford Country Squire wagon with 3 on the tree, no power anything, AM radio and no AC? Not me!

The public demands continuous improvement in their vehicles. Most folks wouldn't want to drive a car without all the latest safety features -- airbags all around, anti-lock brakes, engineered-in crashworthiness and crash avoidance, etc. Nor would they want a car without AC, a decent sound system, power everything, yadda yadda. And if you've got the beans to afford it, leather seats, moon roof, satellite radio, navigation system, On-Star, etc.

If the public DEMANDED a car that would last a lifetime, the manufacturers would deliver. At a price close to what you would pay for a nice home. It would have to be that expensive in order for them to stay in business and pay their employees.

It's neither practical nor desireable to attempt to engineer a complex system to last a lifetime. There's little room to engineer a better hammer, so a lifetime hammer is no big challenge. I've got a couple that are on their third lifetime. But would I want to drive a 1923 Model T as my daily driver? No way in hell! And neither would you, I suspect!

Answer 2

The manufacturers don't want you to replace your parts as much as they just want the car to be as inexpensive as possible to put together!

Answer 3

Why do you ask the same question MANY times in different (and often times off-topic) groups???