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Established memes are hard to replace in any society. The meme of Peronism is quite strong here. Even people who don't believe in Peronism itself have been infected by ancillary memes which can be destructive - including the paranoia that the world is out to get them in one way or another.
When I was growing up in the States, we had our own memes, some of them good, some of them bad. One meme was that you should repair what you bought as long as you could. But then again, luxury items were quite costly and bulky (cars and TVs are two good examples) and much easier to understand than many things are today.
I had a '59 Chevrolet Belaire that I bought in 1976 (damn, I loved those wings!). I replaced the two speed turbo-glide transmission the car came with, with a 350 turbo-hydramatic from a 1973 Buick Regal and installed a Munci automatic transmission shift kit. I put in a 4 barrel carburetor to replace the 2 barrel the 283 CI engine came with. A lot of the work I did on that car was so simple because it was so open, simple parts, no computer technology. I could sit on the fender with my feet resting in the engine compartment and work easily on just about any part of the engine without breaking a sweat. My father used to race cars and we did a lot of work on various cars (which is where I got my knowledge). I even bought a '68 Beetle for $75 in 1982 because the guy who owned it couldn't get it to run - there was a short in the wire that lead to the capacitor in the distributor and it was a simple $2.00 part to replace and I had a functioning Beetle that I ended up turning into a baja buggy. And talk about ease of working on a car! I took the engine out once, after I'd cut off some of the rear end to convert it to a buggy. I put a coupe of concrete blocks under the aluminum engine, unbolted the engine, and pushed the car forward - voila!
My first new car was a 1985 Chevrolet Chevette. I ran that thing ragged (used to have to drive from the northwest side of Houston, down to NASA to work, every day). Finally, in 1989, one of the head gaskets blew and caused problems with one of the cylinders, also had a valve that got bent. I rented an engine hoist and ended up spending the next two weeks pulling my hair out trying to get all of the complicated parts (emissions hoses/parts, miles of electrical cables, all kinds of crap) disconnected, and then reconnected after the cylinder had been turned and the valves put back in the head. I thought I would lose my mind.
BTW - my '59 Belaire had the original price sticker still in the glove box when I bought it. $2,500. I bought my Chevette in 1985 for about $5,000. I haven't done a comparison of the value of the dollar between 1959 and 1985, but I'm betting that the price difference, particularly with all the "modern" features my Chevette had, it wasn't that great a difference. Hell, I had an AM/FM/Cassette stereo in my Chevette, and only an AM radio in my Belaire!Turns out the Chevette was a whole lot more easy to think about throwing out, once I'd worked on it, than was my Belaire...
I wouldn't dream of taking an engine out of a modern car and rebuilding it, today. I used to still do brakes and such when I was in the States, but here particularly I'd never consider it simply because I'd probably spend more time trying to find the parts and the tools I need than the job would cost itself.
There are a lot of things that go by the wayside as technology allows more complicated objects that require a much more specific set of skills to repair.
I agree that there are still a lot of things that people can fix today, that they do not bother with - but I think that's because people are now very used to cheaper products that do indeed have a planned obsolescence (not a conspiracy, but rather a planned marketing/manufacturing/product advancement meme). From my standpoint of once having felt like I MUST fix things that I own myself, as opposed to throwing out a defective item and buying a new, better one, well, I think I like the new way a little better because it's something that I don't HAVE to do, along with all the other crap that I must do on a daily basis to survive and attempt to enjoy life. Of course, part of that has to do with the decades of hard work I've done over my lifetime to put me in an economic class that allows me to feel that way, as well.
We have the means, today, to "print" solid 3D objects. Not of a really great complexity perhaps, but imagine being able to pour in the required raw ingredients in powder form, press a button, and out pops a finished product. Before too long (decades perhaps?) we will have cheap, true nano-technology abilities that will go far beyond the abilities of any solid "fax" printers.
At that point the longevity of any product will be considerably shorter - and most likely each iteration of product more advanced - than its predecessor.
I never worried about quality buggy whip manufacturers going out of business.
Hmmm, el Queso -san, didn't know you were a motor-head/petrol-head? I have worked in cars all of my life. Grew up in Japan and one of my uncle had a small dealership in the provinces.Here is a pic of my current cars accumulating dust in my garage. Mine is in 39 Chevy 2 dr in sea form blue albeit. The pic is for comparison purpose only..Also have the 97 twin turbo Supra with manual tranny.
