Built-in Obsolescence...

[bon3yard]

The plastic bowl attachment for my newly bought a heavy duty(delete brand name prior to administrator doing so)hand blender has just developed a big old crack(No, not like Vanessa Feltz'), and it got me to thinking about how shoddy everything I buy these days seems to be. I know I shouldnt be too surprised but I do expect things to last a couple of years at least, I mean why-o-why-o-why-o-why etc. Disgruntled of Tunbridge Wells.

[HonaloochieB]

I know and these new shilling pieces are so fiddly an' all...

[HonaloochieB]

And you can't get Collis Browne's compound any more. Nothing else can shift my chest.

[CamberwellOz]

I know what you mean. When I was growing up we used this. We had it for over twenty years and it never skipped a beat. My mum told me she threw it away two years ago becausae it was so old.... still working.... *sigh* I nearly cried. It was what began my love of cooking.

[Michael Palaeologus]

I am still using the flint knives that my palaeolythic Palaeologus ancestors made.

Nowt wrong with them.

[lozzyloz]

My joints are starting to ache, my hairs turning grey and my memory's not too good.

[snorky]

consumer society innit

buy / use/ see new one/ dump / ...cycle starts again

poor show

[Brendan]

When I was a boy we had a lump of coal and a stick. There are few domestic tasks which cannot be tackled with one, the other or both. While a bit rudimentary they had no moving parts and were practically indestructible.

[bon3yard]

Indulge my whinge you swines!

[snorky]

Keef has been asking on another fred, ideas for upgrading his fone as an example - not a dig at Keef BTW, but just as an example

will it make that much difference to your life getting a "better" phone ? will you have better , more illuminating conversations ?

apparently there a 3 mobile for every man / woman/Child in the UK - most of which are unused now - thats an awful lot of effort and rescoruces being utterly wasted for vanity/ sales/hype.

it rubbish.

[Brendan]

Ok bon3r I?ll indulge you. Here?s one of my pet annoyances:

Fucking motorcars man!

They CAN be built properly and simply so that they rarely break down and when they do any pillock with 2 brain cells and a spanner can fix them.

The concept hasn?t changed in 100 years. Chassis, body, internal combustion engine, gearbox, drive shaft, steering column, braking and suspension systems.

But no they have to fill them up with pointless fiddly bits that are built to wear out in 5 ? 10 years.

70 years ago Germany came up with the Beetle, a car that is practical, indestructible, easy to drive and fix, a 50 year old one will get you from the Cape to Cairo without much hassle and it is still stylish. Why can?t they do it now?

[James]

Because they want you to buy another one in 4 years' time

[Brendan]

I know. The fuckers!

[david_carnell]

To be fair Brendan, and I'm hoping your not a big VW Beetle fan, they are one of the worst cars ever.

Engine - air-cooled(!), slow, noisy, inefficient, polluting. 4 gears?!

Ride - abysmal, shit suspension

Interior - don't even go there unless you spend thousands on mods

Handling - brakes are awful but as you can never go more than 30mph its not so bad. Corners are best avoided unless all persons and goods are firmly strapped down.

But otherwise your point was spot on. That's why my next car is going to be one of these:

The mighty Rover P5b

Like a turret-less Sherman tank! Indestructible. All the bumpers are chrome. If you have a small ping just hammer and smooth it out rather than replace a whole plastic unit at the cost of hundreds.

I have the same opinion on clothes. By stuff that lasts. Tweed mainly.

[bon3yard]

I think the RH Tony(Wedgewood)Benn has essentialy the same flat that he had way back in the 50s...never thrown anything away apparently(apart from his land and titles and that). Wish I could say the same but techno porn is nearly as exciting as actual porn.

[Brendan]

David David David. Talk like that is like waving a tory flag at MacGabhann

The air-cooled engine was what made the bug what is was, simple and reliable. It wasn?t designed as a high performance car but rather one that will just go, and go and go wherever you send it and carry on going for 100 years as long as you put petrol in.

And then go some more.

The torsion bar suspension was low maintenance and strong and what gives bugs their ability to deal with all terrains. The ride may be a bit hard but they compensated by making the seats extra springy.

I remember once going to a festival in SA where you had to negotiate a dirt road over a hill to get into the valley where it was held. It had been raining and the 3 series BMW we were in got horrible stuck in the mud, behind a 4x4 VW Caravel. A guy in another 4x4 stopped to help us and promptly got himself stuck too. This entire time Beetle after hippy laden Beetle chugged up the hill past us without so much as a spin of the tires.

I also know people who live out in the bush in places like Mozambique and Botswana and all will swear to you that if you can?t afford something like a Toyota Hilux a Beetle (even though they are all at least 25 years old) is the way to go for a car that can handle it off road, has a good torque, starts every time and wont leave you stranded somewhere.

As for the interior, well I think this original is pretty cool :

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/1949_VW_dash_.jpg

Handling? Handling?

Have you never seen a Herbie film man?

[snorky]

the beetle

the idea that effectively started WW2

discuss

[Brendan]

Oi this is about cars not political ideology.

[snorky]

I know, but if it were not for the need for an efficient & proven a/c motor that would work in a range of temperatures and conditions with no fuss, to ensure that the averge a german ciziten would be able to make use of the newly built autobahns, then the invasion of Czechoslvakia & its highly valued Skoda works would not have been so pressing

[Brendan]

Yep. And thinking back the answer we are going to get to is that WW1 essentially started WW2.

[snorky]

anyway, as an ex owner of 911's , I can vouch for the robustness of teh boxer a/c design

[Jah Lush]

Porche owners are cocks, everyone knows that. Although I have noted that you are an ex-cock Snorky.

[snorky]

I know what you mean, but take the pose/ ponce aspect out of it and they are uttelry fantastic cars to drive when no one is around and you are on a deserted road - a go kart for adults. Pre 1990 models only of course.

[Brendan]

I could live with being a cock if I had one of these:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Porsche_Speedster.jpg

[Jah Lush]

I had a girlfriend years ago who had one of those Brendan, fabulous little motor.