[rtpg]

This is because the parts are orders of magnitude more expensive when being put in harsh environments

These "really slow" parts are actually tested and built for much more extreme conditions. For microchips that go into satelites, you even have hand-checked chips that go through a very long (and costly compared to something like a Pi) testing process. Multiply this by all the eletrical components, and you got yourself a lot of things to check.

Put your Raspberry Pi next to a car motor, and it's pretty likely(1) a part will fail in the heat and grime conditions.

(1) actually, I'm not sure about the likelihood, but there's no assurance that it will be fine

[TeMPOraL]

> Put your Raspberry Pi next to a car motor, and it's pretty likely() a part will fail in the heat and grime conditions.

Depending on how hot your motor goes, there's a good chance that unshielded Pi will simply de-solder itself into pieces.

[danjayh]

Fun harsh environment: I reviewed software a few weeks ago that ran on one of our boards while it was irradiated by a neutron source (I work in aerospace). Radiation has interesting effects on electronics :).