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Things in the rear view mirror are bigger (and better) than they are

Started by "Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364, January 22, 2019, 12:36:00 PM

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"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

Just a philosophical note on what I see here (the forum).  The same topic has risen up in several forms over the 10+years I have been on the forum. Simply put it is "why were things better, more exciting, better made, and more to my liking than they are today:?
The question parallels life. We "come up" in ignorance and everything is exciting and new. As we learn and experience things (in this case cars) we develop memories of association with certain eras, certain cars.  As we change and age we often long for things from the past and in our minds they become bigger than life.  The flavor and size of candy bars, our first love, and of course for us the cars we worshiped.
We spend countless hours wondering why things changed in the direction they did and who's to blame.
This type of day dreaming is an integral part of the aging process and I am sure has always been there since man became "civilized".
The automobile was brought into existence to allow extended, rapid personal travel.  Henry Ford knew that and if it had been left up to him we would still be driving Model T's, but marketing and salesmanship took Engineering hostage and we ended up with today's fleet of identical electronic-boxes on wheels.  It isn't going back, so enjoy the avocation while you are still physically able to before our toys are relegated to museums or the scrap yard which ever our descendants them to.
Enough of a rant. I'v got to get out there and wax my "baby".
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

Ralph Messina CLC 4937

Greg,

Well said. I recently heard a similar comment about memory that's food for thought:

"None of us were as good as we remember"
1966 Fleetwood Brougham-with a new caretaker http://bit.ly/1GCn8I4
1966 Eldorado-with a new caretaker  http://bit.ly/1OrxLoY
2018 GMC Yukon

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

Ralph
That goes along with "the older I get, the faster I was".
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

64\/54Cadillacking

I swear, sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era. Some older things were indeed better.

American culture and values were better. Much more family oriented than today.

For one, appliances used to last a lot longer and were made with better much more durable materials. How many times you hear people online talking about how long their 1950’s-80’s refrigerators, washer n dryers etc... are still going strong?

While the new one only last a few years and or already need replacement parts sooner than expected.

Things used to be better made that’s for sure, once everything started to be made in China is when manufacturers started to cheapen their products big time and basically gave away their soul.

Although new cars are safer, more fuel efficient cleaner running and technically advanced, they lack that old solid heavy duty build quality of cars from the past. Long heavy metal hoods, doors and trunks made cars feel like “real” cars that can take a beating, while the new cars feel more delicate, door dings happen a lot easier, plastic everything just feels and looks cheap, the lack of metal door handles and window switches is another one..basically everything about a modern car doesn’t feel as substantial as in years past.

There’s no comparison between a 5,000lb 1970’s Cadillac Deville and a 3,500lb one from the 90’s or even a 4,000lb XTS. The older heavy Cadillac will obviously ride way smoother have boat loads of interior space, and a ultra smooth buttery ride due to the heavy weight of the car and it’s size.

Basically how a Cadillac is supposed to ride,drive and look like.

Some older houses were made with better wood and higher quality materials than the fast food way of building houses today. Thicker walls and heavier doors helped block out noise, but new housing construction is cheap, and walls are thin as paper and you can hear everything outside and inside of many of this homes even if the insulation is packed in the walls they still sound hollow.

But at the same time, i love my IPhone and wouldn’t want to use a 10 old laptop to get things done or watch TV on an old 19inch analog box set. I’ll take an Ultra HDTV any day over a old one. So not everything old is better, at least the tech isn’t, but for basic everyday household use, the old stuff lasted much longer. Even little things like scissors and staplers were all metal and never broke.

But do I miss my mothers 85 Toyota Camry? Or here 70’s something Datsun for good times sake? No way!! They were cheap crappy little cars that were very uncomfortable and ugly as heck. So I don’t miss everything.
Currently Rides:
1964 Sedan Deville
1954 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special
1979 Lincoln Mark V Cartier Designer Series
2007 Lexus LS 460L (extended wheelbase edition)

Previous Rides:
1987 Brougham D' Elegance
1994 Fleetwood Bro
1972 Sedan Deville
1968 Coupe Deville
1961 Lincoln Continental
1993 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series
1978 Lincoln Continental ( R.I.P.) 1978-2024 😞

Maynard Krebs

Mr. Asaro, You mention several kinds of non-tech items that used to be better made and longer lasting than "late-model" examples.

When my former employer abandoned its old office building for a new one, I got to keep the excellent hand-operated pencil sharpener.   Boy, I'm glad I did!  I've tried some new ones, both electric and manual, and neither "hold a candle" to my 'antique' pencil sharpener!   Some of the new ones are truly "junk"!

Scot Minesinger

This is the Cadillac of thoughts.

Some things were better a while ago, and many things were not.  I would rather the medical technology of today help me heal than in 1970. 

Things change.

My best days are ahead. 
Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

The best day is the only one we have right now. Today
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

savemy67

Hello Greg (and all),

Everyone of course will have their own observations based on their own circumstances.  Getting data to make an assertion one way or the other is an exercise in futility.

My complaint has to do with quality and value.  Quality is relatively easy to discern - something either works reliably or it doesn't.  The hand-crank pencil sharpener is a good example.  Provided the metal used for the grinding of the wood and graphite of the pencil is sufficiently hard, that pencil sharpener will last forever.  The cost of the pencil sharpener spread over a useful life of more than hundreds of years, indicates that good value was had for the money.

Recently, the aquastat/controller for my furnace malfunctioned, and the burner would not ignite.  I have a "modern" gas furnace that uses intermittent, pilotless ignition.  So, with a broken controller, I could not light the gas in a safe, controlled manner, and leave the furnace unattended.  The result was a cold house for a few days, until I fixed the controller.  If I had an "old-fashioned" burner with a standing pilot, I could bypass the controller and light the pilot with a match.

The controller is a Honeywell unit, made in China.  The problem is not necessarily in the design of the "modern" unit.  The newer unit (controller and furnace) are more energy efficient than the 900 pound cast iron, oil-fired boiler that was replaced.  The problem is in the quality of manufacture of the unit.  By the way, the units sell for about $200 at the supply house, and if you have a plumber install the unit for you, a service call ranges from $200 to $600 depending on where you live.

The heating and plumbing forums are full of the problems associated with this Honeywell unit.  The majority of which are too little solder used on the circuit boards of the unit.  This results in a broken connection, and resultant malfunction of the thermostat call for heat, and or failure of the circulator to pump, or the boiler to ignite.  So the modern unit is not reliable due to its poor quality of manufacture.  Could the unit have been manufactured with better solder traces?  Yes.  Why wasn't it?  Because Honeywell wanted the lowest cost unit to sell at the maximum price the market would bear (see Adam Smith), and the Chinese supplier was willing to skimp on solder to meet Honeywell's needs - regardless of how short the life of the unit.

To me, this is the crux of the old v new issue.  Time marches forward, new technologies are advanced, but quality suffers, and therefore value is diminished.  This applies to everything from pencil sharpeners to furnace controllers to automobiles.  This past summer, I had to replace the ignition control module on my Impala.  This is a sealed electronic component, the failure of which crippled the car, and it cost $110 for a new part.

How many of your economic resources are you willing to exchange for what seems to be an increasing quantity of poor quality product?  Where is the value in that?  In the last half century in the U.S. there has been an inversely proportional relationship (in corporate earnings and portion of GDP) between the industrial sector and financial sector of the economy.  Because of the shrinking industrial sector, the economy is losing its ability to discern quality and value.

Scot - A recent study by Johns Hopkins concluded that about 250,000 Americans per year are killed by medical mistakes - despite the most modern medical technology in the world.  That number is more than the number of U.S. combat deaths in both Gulf wars, Afghanistan, 9-11, Vietnam, Korea, and World War I combined - per year.  The downside to the adoption of technology is that many use it as a substitute for thinking.

Respectfully, and hopefully thought-provokingly submitted,

Christopher Winter

Christopher Winter
1967 Sedan DeVille hardtop

wrench

Ok, I didn't bite when this topic was first posted but since it has come up again, my first thought last time was about that episode of The Twilight Zone called 'A Stop in Willoughby'. If you know the episode, you know what I am saying, if you don't know the episode, then it might be worth checking out on YouTube, it is said to be Rod Serling's favorite episode.

Anyway, a few weeks ago when this was originally posted I also dug up a Wikipedia article about "Technology Life Cycle"...what happens is that over time as mass production makes back the money spent on R and D, the product gets the life sucked out of it and comes to an end. You can see this cycle play out on automotives and other technologies.

So there is a lot of 'truth' (a philosophical construct) to the observation that in our current day and time that technology we have grown up with basically sucks.

I also think you could do sociological studies on how the decline in technologies people come to rely on, changes their view of the world, also for the worse.

Um, basically everything sucks because everything sucks...is a new world view because it is a longer term byproduct of the Industrial Revolution.

Lol have fun with that one...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_life_cycle
1951 Series 62 Sedan
1969 Eldorado
1970 Eldorado (Triple Black w/power roof)
1958 Apache 3/4 ton 4x4
2005 F250
2014 FLHP
2014 SRX

Scot Minesinger

Christopher,

You are right about hospital errors, my Dad died as the result of a hospital error.

For this medical issue and all else, yes the technology is there but you have to watch it.  Now if a friend or relative is hospitalized I go with them and supervise and get involved in the treatment so that there is less chance of a mess up.  Quality costs money.  I have a nice toaster oven that is reliable, turns off when the time of cooking is reached and I don't need my glasses to operate - it cost $300.  Yes, you can get them for $50 all day long, but they are very low quality, and the cost of not burning food and etc., makes it a worthwhile purchase.

Whenever I have work done on my house, I hire the individual who will do the work, never a company, and this person must be highly recommended.  Then I pay by the hour with instructions that this is to be done as if it was your house and I'm not trying to save money.  Then a get a real quality job at low cost (no company mark-up), but I sacrifice schedule (they work after hours/weekends).

Anyway, in my life there certainly were some nice accomplishments when I was younger, but my expectation is even better achievements are ahead.

On Cadillacs and other automobiles, as you wrote the electronics are generally low quality, and there are hundreds of components in each car.  Accordingly, I will only buy a newer car with a very strong factory dealer endorsed warranty and have all work done at that dealer whenever possible.  Your diagnose of the furnace and impala is brilliant, but I just do not have that kind of time or choose not to devote it to that in my life right now.  However, I will watch over very carefully any work done on my possessions.  Currently, I'm trying to thin them out so that there is less interference to enjoying today and the future.

It should rain this weekend and next week the salt will be gone (hopefully for good) and I can drive my 1970 Cadillacs!
Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

Bill Young

I have enjoyed this thread like not many others. I feel fortunate to be able to enjoy good philosophical conversation with thinking people. In short I feel that the breakdown of the Family and the cheap manufacturing practices are the bane of modern existence. So I try to marry the best of the past with the best of the present. Emotionally I am in the best place I have been in my life now that I am retired. I can do what I want to do when I want to rather than what everyone else wants me to do when they want me to do it. So I am driving an old Cadillac for my every day car , Scratch building large Ocean Liner Models , Scratch building a ride on 7.5 inch gauge New York Central Streamlined Hudson in 1.5 inch scale. And riding a Mini Bike I bought when I want to. July 7th. we will be sailing eastbound for Southampton on Queen Mary 2. God Bless You All.

cadillacmike68

Quote from: 64CaddieLacky on January 23, 2019, 03:08:08 AM
I swear, sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era. Some older things were indeed better.

American culture and values were better. Much more family oriented than today.

For one, appliances used to last a lot longer and were made with better much more durable materials. How many times you hear people online talking about how long their 1950’s-80’s refrigerators, washer n dryers etc... are still going strong?

While the new one only last a few years and or already need replacement parts sooner than expected.

Things used to be better made that’s for sure, once everything started to be made in China is when manufacturers started to cheapen their products big time and basically gave away their soul.

Although new cars are safer, more fuel efficient cleaner running and technically advanced, they lack that old solid heavy duty build quality of cars from the past. Long heavy metal hoods, doors and trunks made cars feel like “real” cars that can take a beating, while the new cars feel more delicate, door dings happen a lot easier, plastic everything just feels and looks cheap, the lack of metal door handles and window switches is another one..basically everything about a modern car doesn’t feel as substantial as in years past.

There’s no comparison between a 5,000lb 1970’s Cadillac Deville and a 3,500lb one from the 90’s or even a 4,000lb XTS. The older heavy Cadillac will obviously ride way smoother have boat loads of interior space, and a ultra smooth buttery ride due to the heavy weight of the car and it’s size.

Basically how a Cadillac is supposed to ride,drive and look like.

Some older houses were made with better wood and higher quality materials than the fast food way of building houses today. Thicker walls and heavier doors helped block out noise, but new housing construction is cheap, and walls are thin as paper and you can hear everything outside and inside of many of this homes even if the insulation is packed in the walls they still sound hollow.

But at the same time, i love my IPhone and wouldn’t want to use a 10 old laptop to get things done or watch TV on an old 19inch analog box set. I’ll take an Ultra HDTV any day over a old one. So not everything old is better, at least the tech isn’t, but for basic everyday household use, the old stuff lasted much longer. Even little things like scissors and staplers were all metal and never broke.

But do I miss my mothers 85 Toyota Camry? Or here 70’s something Datsun for good times sake? No way!! They were cheap crappy little cars that were very uncomfortable and ugly as heck. So I don’t miss everything.

Not much difference b/w a 10 yr old laptop and a current one. Sure the processor is a little faster, but the screens are actually shorter. Top end ThinkPads had a 16:10 screen then and not screens are all 16:9). I can GIG up the RAM to 8 or 16GB on mine and can stuff 4TB of HDD storage plus another 2TB in the docking station if I remove the Multi-DVD.

I do prefer the newer phones.  But these come with severe privacy issues.

As far as new vs old manufacture goes, there's something to be said both ways. As noted newer TVs have bigger brighter screens, weigh almost nothing compared to the giant tube sets of your, and sound decent with external speakers. But they don't last. The audio went out on a three old TV last month. Just died. Good picture, can get a sound out of it to save a life. My old H-K 930 still runs fine and it capably powers 4 KL888D speakers. No need for surround sound when you have 4 16" woofers.  8)

Large household appliances: Does anyone really need a dishwasher that they can control from their mobile phone while at work?? NO!! In fact, all those so-called "smart devices" are a serious potential security issue. "Smart" dishwashers, thermostats, etc, have already been hacked for various nefarious purposes. And the quality of new appliances leave much to be desired. I have a 32 year old dryer that works just fine and a 25 yr old refrigerator (uses R12 by the way!) and dishwasher that work great. No I can't turn it on from my phone, but who cares??



Regards,
"Cadillac" Mike