Swoop,

You are the eternal pessimist. You perception of durable is jaded. You mean durable like the forklifts of old that needed tune-ups every 500 hours because of all the moving parts? Cap, rotor, plugs, wires, points, and condensers are the way of the dinosaur, I am glad to say. I know of new units 2010 that have 12,000 hours on them. How much more durable do you want? Warranty for some manufacturers can be straight up! The dealer implementing that warranty has direct cause and effect on the validity of a warranty. If a dealer has just a data entry person submitting warranties and taking the first answer back from the factory as applied law, then you are right the warranty is a marketing plan. If you have a dealer like us, who has a 30 year service specialist who does warranty for our customers and nothing else, then it is not a marketing plan. A warranty supported by a dealer correctly can be intensely beneficial and will carry a financial benefit for the customer and the dealer. I do however agree with you about what we leave behind us for our children. I think forklifts that put out fewer emissions, and manufacturing plant that produces zero waste is great. I can live with a reduced machine life for those gains.