No doubt, engines are more long lasting than ever,which I would assign to the more precision work being done with current manufacturing capability.
What used to be called "blueprinting" an engine years ago..weighing each component..push rods, valves etc all brought in very close weight of each other etc, .along with other precision measures.. is now production routine.
Little doubt in my mind Lloyd,. you are a far better mechanic than I, but I lay much of todays problems onto the complexity of current cars.
My mechanical days were when cars had carburetors and generators..
THe simplicity I am looking for, is such as when I drove VW beetles for 15-20 years, and did my own work on them. Yes, back then for all cars, it
was routine plugs, points and condensers every 12K miles..like clockwork.. .But then, those parts cost me about a $10 bill. And I could replace the entire exhaust system (JC Whitney) for $19.
Today, I don't consider German cars... It seems their engineers are so impressed with their own ability, that they want to demonstrate their
skill by making their cars very "sophisticated"..to the point where it directly affects their reliability.
Basically, I think that the hard-ware in today's cars (engines, transmissions, running gear, brakes), is much superior to yesterday's cars, but
It seems if any 'system' fails..it is very costly. Yesterday, if you speedometer quit, it was usually the cable..a few buck and it is good again.
Those built in computers are very costly to replace, as well as any of the electronic systems they are built to control.
..And it appears to my amateurish eyes, that the more "presteigous' the brand..the more costly to repair. I don't see a Bently, Porsche or Lambo,
running day after day , like a Toyota or Honda...but those who can afford those very costly cars..can afford to repair them, so you hear little
complaint from owners.
Perhaps thatn
is because if a manufacturer makes say half a million cars of any model...durability is assured purely by experience with that model.
.. But if they make just 40 to 200 of any given model..they haven't yet "gotten the bugs out"..
Just unloading...don't take me too seriously..