I think we have a couple things going on here worth talking about.
First, the difference between automobiles and appliances is not a men vs. women thing, not in my opinion anyway, it's just a difference in the loudness of the consumer market voices who relay their opinions.
Far-be-it from any consumer group, company, or even government agency to tell the American driver what they can drive and what they can't. We WERE in the early 1980s in a very energy-conscious, conservative time in automotive history, and Ford, GM and other brands responded with smaller vehicles, and with smaller engines which at the time were how we tried to make vehicles burn less fuel per driver. In the early 80s we DID NOT have the variety of vehicles on the market which got fuel mileage figures as we have now. For example, four out of the eleven houses on our street in 1982 had the GM midsize sedan as their family main car - today that same group would probably have a mid-size or full-size 4x4 SUV, and I'd bet the GMs of 1982 got better mileage.
My point is that consumers play a very huge part in both markets. Consumers wanted cars with performance beginning in the mid-80s, as we forgot about oil prices, and we dug ourselves our own hole from which we now are digging out. We never should have started to purchase the 12-16mpg SUVs in the first place, not in the huge numnbers we have done for so many years.
Appliances on the other hand don't have the passion behind them in consumer's minds, and if one is more energy efficient, we like that. It doesn't get parked in our driveways and garages, we don't have status symbols with our washing machines, or appliance fantasies, and thus consumers don't care in the masses that this year's dishwasher uses less water than last year's, and that its cleaning performance may have suffered. The Eneregy Star and similar focuses have driven appliance design as a result of the market, just as we found more guzzling SUVs on the market for the same reason - consumer demand.
The build-quality of parts and overall machines is a direct response to consumer demand too. Prices for appliances have NOT risen with inflation, in fact I paid $100 LESS in 2010 for my Admiral washer than I did for my generally equivalent Kenmore 70 belt-drive in 1986. Think about that for a moment. At a similar time though, the 2004 Mustang I bought in 7/04 was more than 2.5 times more expensive than the 1984 Mustang I bought in 10/84. Employ this same logic now on the price of washers, and $358 multiplied by 2.5 would yield a $895 top-load washer on the market today. If we were willing to pay that price (are we? NO), then we might get similar build quality.
In a summary, I think we have nobody to blame but ourselves as a mass of consumers for both the state of the automotive scene AND the state of appliances (in terms of appliance quality, price, and energy use). I think the U.S. government may be gradually nudging the market with legislation to make sure we don't fall off the wagon like we did with the automotive industry.
First, the difference between automobiles and appliances is not a men vs. women thing, not in my opinion anyway, it's just a difference in the loudness of the consumer market voices who relay their opinions.
Far-be-it from any consumer group, company, or even government agency to tell the American driver what they can drive and what they can't. We WERE in the early 1980s in a very energy-conscious, conservative time in automotive history, and Ford, GM and other brands responded with smaller vehicles, and with smaller engines which at the time were how we tried to make vehicles burn less fuel per driver. In the early 80s we DID NOT have the variety of vehicles on the market which got fuel mileage figures as we have now. For example, four out of the eleven houses on our street in 1982 had the GM midsize sedan as their family main car - today that same group would probably have a mid-size or full-size 4x4 SUV, and I'd bet the GMs of 1982 got better mileage.
My point is that consumers play a very huge part in both markets. Consumers wanted cars with performance beginning in the mid-80s, as we forgot about oil prices, and we dug ourselves our own hole from which we now are digging out. We never should have started to purchase the 12-16mpg SUVs in the first place, not in the huge numnbers we have done for so many years.
Appliances on the other hand don't have the passion behind them in consumer's minds, and if one is more energy efficient, we like that. It doesn't get parked in our driveways and garages, we don't have status symbols with our washing machines, or appliance fantasies, and thus consumers don't care in the masses that this year's dishwasher uses less water than last year's, and that its cleaning performance may have suffered. The Eneregy Star and similar focuses have driven appliance design as a result of the market, just as we found more guzzling SUVs on the market for the same reason - consumer demand.
The build-quality of parts and overall machines is a direct response to consumer demand too. Prices for appliances have NOT risen with inflation, in fact I paid $100 LESS in 2010 for my Admiral washer than I did for my generally equivalent Kenmore 70 belt-drive in 1986. Think about that for a moment. At a similar time though, the 2004 Mustang I bought in 7/04 was more than 2.5 times more expensive than the 1984 Mustang I bought in 10/84. Employ this same logic now on the price of washers, and $358 multiplied by 2.5 would yield a $895 top-load washer on the market today. If we were willing to pay that price (are we? NO), then we might get similar build quality.
In a summary, I think we have nobody to blame but ourselves as a mass of consumers for both the state of the automotive scene AND the state of appliances (in terms of appliance quality, price, and energy use). I think the U.S. government may be gradually nudging the market with legislation to make sure we don't fall off the wagon like we did with the automotive industry.
It replaced a 1.6 toilet upstairs and the pink '54 took the place of the '70 downstairs. Also, when the 1.6's are working correctly, I still have to hold the handle down, every time, before clean water emerges from the bowl. Not so with the guzzlers. Just flush and walk away. Instant clean water.
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