Motorola

More or less what this video talks about, and they had some worthwhile points to make concerning whether newer cars really are built worse than before.

LeX2K

Depends on how you look at it. Cost cutting yields the same result but I don't think engineers generally go out of their way to make sure parts fail at a set time. Have not watched the video yet.

JDR76

I haven't been able to watch the video yet, but will do so as I deal with parts obsolescence issues all of the time as part of my job. We have to deal with it a lot because we put complex products into production for 20+ years, and over those years, suppliers come and go.

We don't have time for those calculations.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Didn't watch all the video, but brands in any highly competitive industry MUST obsolete themselves and others in order to survive, or their competitors will and they'll be gone. So in that sense it's 'planned'.

brands like toyota and honda though revolutionized the build QUALITY of cars so that they weren't built with such a callous disregard for the customer (as did the arrogant and sloppy "big 3" in the 70s and on until they were facing doom).

innovation = obsolescence for older products except for customers who don't care about the innovations and regulations don't force them to move up.