Hit 50,000 miles on my truck this morning and it got me thinking about that whole 'planned obsolescence' thing differently

The odometer rolled over right as I passed the GM plant in Flint and it made me wonder if the real conspiracy is that they could make everything last this long but they just don't want to, anyone else notice their old stuff just keeps going?

3 comments

3 Comments

kellygrant7d ago

@wade_kelly77 you just converted me, never thought of it that way before.

wade_kelly777d ago

Is it possible the real reason older stuff lasts longer is because they were still figuring out how to make them cheaper and more profitable, so they overbuilt them by accident?

torres.blair7d ago

Notice it with a lot of things from that era. Cars, appliances, even houses were built with thicker materials and simpler designs that were easier to fix. Once manufacturers realized they could shave a few cents off production costs by using thinner metal or plastic parts, there was no going back. So yeah, I think you're onto something. They weren't trying to build heirlooms, they just hadn't figured out all the shortcuts yet.