Quote Originally Posted by Boatsb View Post
As a thought to Mr Clarksons response.

Im sure many design decisions are also based on the governments need to impede. They set standards for efficiency that require the components to be less than sturdy in order to be "efficient".

No one can get the old solid long term reliable components to do things they were not designed for. No one can get the new lighter weight components to outlast the good old heavy duty stuff.

Its progress.

Well, some true and some not. Take a company like S-Z back then: A small family owned business that experienced rapid growth reaching farther and farther away from their upper mid-west roots. Sweating frigs weren't a big issue early on. At the same time, the majors had long ago solved the problem with low wattage mullion heaters or by running warm refrigerant around the door. Retooling for that in was vastly more costly for a low volume manufacturer. I think that's why they chose to blame the consumer; they were adamant that nothing was wrong with their product. The customers were just as adamant about the puddles. By the time the next efficiency standards came around, they had to retool anyway and brought out all new designs that fixed the sweating problem.

Some other good appliance examples out there of the plastic stuff outlasting the old fashioned stuff. Kitchen Aide was eviscerated by GE poly tub dishwashers were close half the weight. We all thought the GE was junk--we were wrong.

I've owned five Mercedes cars and my dad had a few starting in 1960. They've mostly been excellent and long lasting cars. But the 2012 E550 coupe I presently drive takes the cake. 217,000+ miles, more HP than God and never uses a quart of oil between changes. It's loaded with electronics (2012 era) and weighs lots less than anything I drove before. 450 or so HP, twin turbos, and I get 28 mpg at 80. My dad crashed his 1960 190D head-on when a drunk crossed the line. The drunk died, and my dad walked. No airbags or safety glass, just a seatbelt and well designed mass. No one would disagree that I'm lots safer in my lighter weight car with lots of plastic. Knocking on wood, nothing breaks on it. Some newer and lightweight stuff is just better.