Jeff Swann @Jeff Swann - 3y
The only businesses that survive in a corrupt, & inflationary, monetary system are those that focus on cashflow rather than building quality products. They either build shit that you have to keep rebuying, or they sell you some sort of subscription. These conditions actually debase your ownership of things too. In a sound monetary environment money appreciates. So the business that builds the best product & collects money that can be saved sooner, rather than payments spread out across time, is the one who does the best. This means not only are products higher quality to compete for your money, but you are much more likely to really own them, because businesses benefit from it.
6389b - 3y
Nailed it. We are so used to shitty 'everythings' that we have an entire generation that have no idea that a refrigerator or a washer/dryer was expected to be reliable for over 20 years. Had a Maytag dryer from the mid- 1970's? That shit was f'ing bulletproof. 1980's Ford Bronco? We called them 'battlewagons'. My kids have never known me to buy something and not replaced it inside of 3 years (except for our Chevy). #[0]
44996 - 3y
My first car was 86 Eddie Bauer bronco. Fucking loved that thing. Have 3 cars in the fleet now all over 20 years old. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
0d0b0 - 3y
aaa22 - 3y
#[0]
I'm right there with you. I have worked on a lot of newer stuff lately helping a friend get a dealership off the ground & it's incredible how terrible some of it is. There are no jack points on any of the cars, they've even made subframe mounts harder to get to somehow. The engines are generally pretty awesome. I'm a big fan of turbo 4 cylinders & there are lots of those now. But the transmissions are all "non-serviceable" (which I'm pretty sure is the result of some sort of "no oil needed" carbon credit program) & that just means no one changes the fluid & so the transmissions are all shot at like 100k. And having touch screen controls for everything is one of the worst things ever. The UX sucks to begin with, & when the screens mess up you can't work anything in the damn car. As far as interior controls go there is like zero intelligent engineering, no thought put into failure modes at all. I like real switches & buttons. My phone does all the smart stuff I need & I can completely replace that or change the OS without having to hack up an entire car.
This old girls got 289.000 miles on the odometer and still rips 🚗💨 the paint is bad, the leather seats are torn, it has some electrical gremlins.. but the 3.0 liter V8 sings above 4 grand and it handles like a dream. It’s easy to work on and has never left me stranded (…yet) 🙏
She's gorgeous. I've owned & worked a lot of BMWs. I have such a love hate relationship with them. The electrical stuff finally sent me over the edge. If I ever own another one, it's going to be completely rewired with a painless wiring harness & holley standalone ecu & dash. When a Light Control Module (which shouldnt even be a thing) can suddenly quit & cost you $700 (for the part) to get your lights working again... I just can't with that. But every now & then I see a particularly nice e30, e34, e36, e39, or e46 that makes me want to go find another project. A good friend bought this one from my dad & is making it pretty crazy 😁 https://i.imgur.com/XdNlNsk.jpg
b6344 - 3y
🎯
cbd92 - 3y
Nice I had a 2003 E39 530i Msport Touring in silver. Only car I ever regretted selling. Lots of electrics to go wrong but a dream to drive. Currently got a 2006 Discovery with 380k miles on the clock which is a workhorse and a ticking time bomb for a big repair.
Karnage @Karnage - 3y
How does this square with subscriptions for continuous services or do you feel they must be purchased up front? There are so many services I use on subscription basis but would not pay for up front.
8a981 - 3y
Maybe the quality of the services improve to a level where you would want to buy them in a non-corrupt, non-inflationary monetary system.
I have several services I pay for that cost me thousands a year but I could not justify paying them in full up front. Subscriptions exist for reasons other than extracting money continuously… like for actual affordability reasons
A money that appreciates so fast that you’d want to pay a full sum up front is not good money. Subscriptions will exist regardless of service quality.
67ddc - 3y
I think subscriptions exist only because micropayments are not feasible yet (LN is currently for a very small audience).
I’m certainly happy to stream for use ;)
83f3d - 3y
I repair physical and electrical things for fun and profit. For a fairly long period of time I did it professionally. I saw these dynamics first hand. Horrible and unsustainable emotionally, environmentally, and economically.
cf165 - 3y
Subscriptions have their use. But when car manufacturers start making seat heating a subscription service, you really gotta wonder.
27a20 - 3y
This is so so right. Companies which produce products which don't break don't make it... #[0]
StackSats ⚡️ @StackSats - 3y
🎯💯
Byzantine @Byzantine - 3y
in the comments it would be useful to know if quality products. i have -a 11 year old subaru impreza that is near perfect in terms of reliability and durability -a 8 year old mac mini that is a reliable home server -7 year old zojirushi water heater and rice cooker -dewalt tools are still wonderful -klein tools are quality -whirlpool gas drying machines there are still good things out there and those companies will lead us through fiat decline
Our Zoji died after 3 or 4 years. I loved that thing and was sad to see it die. I have a massive All American pressure cooker. No gasket required. That thing will absolutely last longer that me. No moving parts. Just a huge chunk of aluminum.
