yup.
information on their engineering practices is out there, but it's one of
those things where the proles are so brainwashed by the constant
advertising bombardment, they don't want to know. the easily observable
proof being how stunningly few "intermediate" age bmw's there are on the
road is something they /really/ don't want to know!
whatever. most people get what they deserve.
--
nomina rutrum rutrum
i think we're already seeing it. a gf's 2001 civic is utterly done at
180k miles. transmission started to go, then the head gasket went -
within about 500 miles of each other. simply uneconomic to repair
unless by a diy-er. she doesn't like it enough to want to keep it. i
don't like it. and there's no "enthusiast" market for them. just not
enough of a "worthy" car to be worth any effort. she ended up replacing
it with a prius - still boring, but it drives no worse than a current
gen civic, and its hatchback is highly utilitarian.
contrast that with the 88-91 crx or 88-2000 generations of civic and
integra, and people are still spending considerable sums keeping those
things on the road because they're great to drive. have you test driven
a fit or civic lately? BORING! and what used to be all-day driving
comfort is out the window. i'd rather buy a rabbit - despite the lack
of reliability.
--
nomina rutrum rutrum