[rdlecler1]

This analysis ignores the impact of competition. A car produced today is better (and more complex to make) than a car produced in 1980.

Technological productivity isn’t just about improving the number of units or dollar value produced/hours input. Technology can make products more competitive without any increase in productivity by making them better, and, therefore more attractive, to customers even if unit cost or volume stays fixed.

[beretguy]

I don’t know. We need to define “better” first. My friend has 1970s F150 that still drives. “For how long will car run so that i don’t have to buy a new one” - that’s my definition of “better”. Will modern cars run 50 years from now?

[dahart]

Car longevity has been increasing over time [1], despite anecdotes of a few long-lived vehicles here and there. So, cars are getting better by your metric. They’re also getting better by all other metrics: safety, fuel economy, speed, reliability, conveniences, comfort, style, etc., etc.

I’ve driven a still-running 70’s F-150 recently and owned a 2020s F-150 for a year. There is practically no comparison, I would never buy the 70s vehicle given the choice, they are worlds apart. The 70s truck is uncomfortable, slow, and unsafe in today’s traffic. It is also temperamental and requires more maintenance, cold in the cabin in the winter, hard to see when it’s raining or snowing. Probably the only thing I could say honestly about the 70s truck that’s better in any way is that the purchase price was lower.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_longevity#Statistics

[hvs]

The vehicles still running from the 1970's suffer from survivorship bias.

[zeroonetwothree]

Modern cars seem to be vastly more reliable than even cars from the 90s. They also generally have nicer features