Why is everything so crummy!! warning CAPS have been used

[theclencher]

s-k sockets

[Erdrick]

My qualm is the snow shovel. My dad has one that he got back when he first got his license (he is now 55), and I kid you not, he is still using it. This thing has seen some serious use too. He has a snow removal route and I can tell you that this shovel has earned him quite a bit of money. 95% of the route is done with his snow plow, but the shovel comes in handy for the odd sidewalk.

Fast forward to the crap we have today. Weird bent shapes that are supposed to be ergonomically correct just make it impossible to balance a full scoop of snow as you go to toss it. Insane designs that make it impossible to clear a sidewalk.

Yeah, they don't make snow shovels they way they used to.

[01_fast_ride]

Great thread! I disagree about there not being a demand for quality and longevity. I think there has been a shift by manufacturers to *build it cheaper* in other parts of the world. You see it in all consumer goods. Car audio, tools, clothing, ..., everything. It bums me out to see a company known for quality (Sony or Craftsman, etc) that begin putting out garbage. You used to be able to buy a product on blind faith. Even Consumers Report has stopped *automatically* giving thumbs up on Toyota vehicles. TOYOTA!! Come on!

I also agree about the newer cars being a PITA (at least for home DIYs). I was thinking of adding foglights to my car since you can get it as a 'kit' from the dealer. No wiring needed - pop off the cover in the dash, plug in the switch and do the same for the lights. EXCEPT... you have to get a software update to the ecu. WTF?! Did Microsoft have a hand in designing the car?? There really needs to be an Anti-Trust lawsuit on car manufacturers that do this sort of thing and get away with it. Bush League!!

[VetteOwner]

oh i know! all these totally useless chips to control insanely simple things (all u need are the lights, relay and a switch, and a buncha wire) but no they gotta combine a bunch of things into a board and hide it somewhere and not tell anyone what pins do what UNLESS your a mechanic and have mitchel or some other car program on it... and then ohh yea just plug it in the sockets and instead of doing the "oh so hard task" of runnin wire thru the firewall we will just have a computer whip up a program for us!

things just need to be less complicated car wise and less useless junk on cars...(heard the other day some manufacturer designed a rearview mirror that was POWERED! were so fat and lazy in this country lifting our arm to adjust the mirror(what liek once a year) is gettin to be a hassle now we can just use a little knob!)

[rh77]

What grinds my gears is HOOVER! I used to buy nothing but Hoover vacs, made in North Canton, Ohio. They sold out, now I've got a Mexican made POS that burns up belts every month. A Consumer Reports Best Buy for 2004!

Well, I can sympathize with Printers. I've been cursed with bad printers since the Commodore 64's dot-matrix color Epson. The best lately has been an HP Laserjet 1300 or something. Don't get me started on printing at work

Tools, welp, not an expert -- but I have broken tools in half and busted a few knuckles in the process. I don't use enough tools to spend decent money on them. If I can find them in the pile in the garage, then they get used or broken/replaced.

Cars -- welp, the TSX is more complicated than I've imagined. It's off-limits for mods right now. Thank goodness the 'Tegs a '98. Fewer plastic covers and stuff. As far as reliability goes -- who the heck knows anymore. Honda/Acura works for me.

NE-way, if we continue to support cheap-O products from the Big-Box stores, then we get crap. Cheap, short-handled shovels to move crap around. Yeah, bold statement buried in the middle.

Lawnmowers: I inherited one of those Murrays that Vetteowner mentioned -- I can only get it to idle, and start it with an electric drill after 2-minutes of turning. I've taken the carb apart 3-times, no luck -- maybe a good project for the High School students. It's probably worn out. Pretty cool -- self propelled, the handle's in good shape too. But my main one is a 2-year old 6.5-horse Craftsman that's already burning oil . I wanted the Honda, but... hrmf.

Laptops -- rebuilt a few. Older Dells lasted longer, but depended on the model. I'm stuck with HPs these days, which I can get repaired on-site when they eventually break or melt.

Airlines aren't the same, either.

RH77

[01_fast_ride]

I tell you what. The companies that have consistantly provided equipment for professionals are CLEANING UP because of the lack of quality from consumer goods. The examples are listed above. Matco, Snap-On, MAC in tools; Viking, SubZero in kitchen appliances; etc, etc. That should tell you that people demand quality. I'm afraid that its become *trendy* to overdo things (how else can you explain the Hummer's popularity). I understand professionals owning expensive tools and such, because busted tools means lost wages so they cant afford downtime.

For average Joes the word *overkill* comes to mind. Overkill by definition is waste. Why spend $170 on a torque wrench when you can get the same effect with a $15 torque wrench? Sure, the $15 one may not last a lifetime but who cares? Any hear of, "A poor craftman blames his tools"? Means that great tools don't make a great mechanic, and bad tools don't make a bad mechanic.

I am certainly not dissing any company for putting out great stuff. Absolutely not. I'm just saying why overdo it? A friend of mine loves gadgets. He has a ~$3K server that he uses to surf the net. That's like using a nuclear sub to go fishing. All I'm saying is use your head. For the same price you can own a drawer full of nice tools or a garage full of decent tools (both with *lifetime* warranties).

Sorry about the longish post.