I have to agree with swoop- the products of today are not designed to last. Either the product will just fail or it becomes outdated to the point that it's useless. In either senario- the result is the same- more products going to landfills & more money being spent by consumers for more products.

As far as electronics making equipment & cars last longer- I think a deeper look may have some insight. I understand that the old point style ignitions & carburetors of past had their limitations, but kept in tune & working correctly, engines ran well & could deliver good gas milage & good emmisions (especially if LP equipped). The problem was that the engine could still run in a poor state of tune & because of $- most people let the engine run that way until it wouldn't run any more- all the while doing damage to the enviroment & to the engine itself. Jumping forward to the present, the computerized systems of today throw a code & depending on what's faulty- won't run at all. So problems which were detrimental are now handled much more quickly, but , in the end, still cost money. Valve jobs, engine jobs, etc are not nearly as prevolent as they once were, but replacing fuel injectors, throttle bodies, etc is quite an expensive undertaking. It may appear that the equipment lasts longer, but more money in repairs is spent along the way.