# The reason I believe newer cars last longer than cars 50 years ago did **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [May 19, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349 "2025-05-19T17:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Old-Days-Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7feea3/32.png) [@Old-Days-Rick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Old-Days-Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/21 "2025-05-19T22:28:22Z")
> [@FoDaddy](#): > > > [@Old-Days-Rick](#): > > > > We you see back then odometer fraud was rampant. Over half the cars sold maybe closer to 75 percent had odometers that were rolled back. > > Absolutely not 75%. It wasn’t even illegal to rollback odometers until 1972! It really didn’t start to get any attempt at enforcement until 1986 with the passage of an odometer fraud act. If I was a dealer I would have rolled them back and most did. We had a guy around here still rolling them back around 25 years ago. It was well known in the car circle Pappy Appney had been rolling them back since the 60s. He has sonce passed so I can say his name but lets not duck our heads into the samd on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Old-Days-Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7feea3/32.png) [@Old-Days-Rick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Old-Days-Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/22 "2025-05-19T22:30:14Z")
> [@FoDaddy](#): > > Seats would be showing significant wear not in keeping with a 83k mile car. GM seat upholstery and many others wore like iron back in the day. Most others did too. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 10:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/23 "2025-05-19T22:37:13Z")
> [@VOLVO-V70](#): > > Rick does not let facts get in his way . Like Tommy, He’s “Non Impediti Ratione Cogitationis” (Unencumbered by the Thought Process) ---
**Author:** ![Old-Days-Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7feea3/32.png) [@Old-Days-Rick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Old-Days-Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/24 "2025-05-19T22:38:49Z")
> [@It\_s-Me](#): > > > [@VOLVO-V70](#): > > > > Rick does not let facts get in his way . > > Like Tommy, He’s “Non Impediti Ratione Cogitationis” (Unencumbered by the Thought Process) Incorrect. I am ENLIGHTENED by the thought process. ---
**Author:** ![Old-Days-Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7feea3/32.png) [@Old-Days-Rick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Old-Days-Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/25 "2025-05-19T22:45:37Z")
For everyone saying we make more now than we did 50 years ago that is FALSE! In 1975 a GM worker in Indiana started at 3.02 an hour. Thats over 30 an hour today. A GM factory worker in Indiana starts at 17.85 an hour today. 50 years was the good old days so let’s everyone get off it because it completely bullroar to think that the entry level worker is better off today than 50 years ago. The disconnect here is alarming. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/26 "2025-05-19T22:46:33Z")
Be careful that you don’t sprain your arm by patting yourself on the back. 😏 ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 11:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/27 "2025-05-19T23:01:02Z")
You are spewing midwestern nonsense. My mother was born in 1921 and went to college for 4 years in 1939. Upon graduation she got a job as the controller of a large new york city garment manufacturer. When that business dissolved in 1964, she took a position with a CPA firm, also in new york city. There were plenty of women in professional positions in new york city in those days. Perhaps in the provincial backwoods that wasn’t the case. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/28 "2025-05-19T23:36:30Z")
You’ve got an overactive imagination, @Old-Days-Rick As usual I remember some of the cars our family had in the 1970s And as I recall, the paint jobs weren’t particularly impressive ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/29 "2025-05-19T23:45:47Z")
After the disastrous Datsun, my SIL bought a new (1970? 1971?) Barracuda. The paint looked like it had been applied with a broom. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/30 "2025-05-19T23:46:30Z")
> [@Old-Days-Rick](#): > > started at 3.02 an hour. Thats over 30 an hour today No. 3.02 in 1975 is $18.01 an hour today. Calculate it for yourself here: > **[Inflation Calculator | Find US Dollar's Value From 1913-2025](https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/)** > > Easily calculate how the buying power of the U.S. dollar has changed from 1913 to 2025. Get inflation rates and U.S. inflation news. > [@Old-Days-Rick](#): > > A GM factory worker in Indiana starts at 17.85 an hour today Because the union negotiated a 2 tier wage system which started new hires at $17.85 with 6% raises each year. The average autoworker as of 2023 makes about $28 an hour or $10 higher than 1975. > **[UAW Strikes: How does autoworker union pay compare to other hourly jobs?](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2023/10/14/how-much-uaw-workers-earn-comparison/71159764007/)** > > UAW workers are striking for better pay, among other benefits. Here's a look at how UAW hourly wages compare with other workers in striking states. A little fact checking goes a long way… ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 11:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/31 "2025-05-19T23:51:12Z")
Oh and my limited calling home phone cost the equivalent of $80 a month in today’s money. I have 2 cell phones for $50 a month with unlimited data and long distance in North America. ---
**Author:** ![Old-Days-Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7feea3/32.png) [@Old-Days-Rick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Old-Days-Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/32 "2025-05-19T23:54:54Z")
> [@Mustangman](#): > > Oh and my limited calling home phone cost the equivalent of $80 a month in today’s money. I have 2 cell phones for $50 a month with unlimited data and long distance in North America. In 2025 Luxuries are cheap and life is expensive. In 1975 Luxuries were expensive and life was cheap. ---
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/34 "2025-05-20T00:18:36Z")
> [@glasspilot](#): > > I think another factor is the sheet steel car makers used back then. Until the mid (?) eighties they just used plain steel I read an article in ‘Scientific American’ by the chief metallurgist at GM - must have been the ‘70s’. He described the varieties of steel in cars, said that there was no more ‘mild steel’ in a modern car. > [@bing](#): > > Henry had his feet in the refrigerator and his head in the oven but on the average he was quite comfortable. The average American has 1 testicle. I remember a segment on ‘60 minutes’ about rolling back odometers - possibly before the Fraud Act. Later: I remembered the ‘60 minutes’ segment was about wholesalers rolling back odometers, not retailers. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/40 "2025-05-20T00:34:34Z")
I live in Fly over country and it is just fine . Well except for Tornados . ---
**Author:** ![Old-Days-Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7feea3/32.png) [@Old-Days-Rick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Old-Days-Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 12:41am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/41 "2025-05-20T00:41:20Z")
> [@VOLVO-V70](#): > > I live in Fly over country and it is just fine . Well except for Tornados . You may live in one of the tolerable parts. You seem educated and I guess you live in some place like Bloomington Indiana. Its an oasis in the cesspool that is Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![JoeTro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/13edae/32.png) [@JoeTro](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JoeTro)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/42 "2025-05-20T01:01:37Z")
New cars do last longer than they did 50 years ago…BUT…when they break, the incredible expense to repair a major component failure might render them pretty close to a “new era” for the modern car–disposable. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 1:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/43 "2025-05-20T01:03:44Z")
> [@Old-Days-Rick](#): > > Its an oasis in the cesspool that is Indiana. If it’s so awful, then LEAVE And stop complaining about how awful it is Many of us on this website stopped complaining and did stuff to improve our situations, such as relocating, studying, changing career paths, etc. By all accounts, you’re whining, but not actively trying to change your situation ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/44 "2025-05-20T02:17:49Z")
> [@FoDaddy](#): > > Even on cars that old there were still countermeasures in place for odometer tampering. Some had blue bars that would appear, some odometers had digits that wouldn’t line up evenly as a tell-tale. At any rate, usually the wear on the carpet/floor mat and/or pedals will be a giveaway. This!!!, number don’t line up rolling backwards in most cases… > [@FoDaddy](#): > > At any rate, usually the wear on the carpet/floor mat and/or pedals will be a giveaway. And that!!!, you can’t fake wear and tear, it can be replaced, but installing new carpet, floor mats, pedal rubber, seat(s) will eat up more profit then gained by rolling the odometer back… besides, then you have part new interior, red flag… Also under the hood wear… ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/45 "2025-05-20T02:20:51Z")
> [@db4690](#): > > If it’s so awful, then LEAVE I will second that. We have 50 states you could move to. Some that others are leaving at a rapid clip so there must be a spot for you. Move far east or far west to find those more like minded that won’t challange your beliefs but embrace them. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349/46 "2025-05-20T02:43:08Z")
I am thinking that a troll is baiting everyone on this tread, just not sure if the troll is seeking attention, or just this mad at the world, or both… imp I can see this turning political real fast and getting way out of hand… [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-reason-i-believe-newer-cars-last-longer-than-cars-50-years-ago-did/200349.md?page=3)