[mancerayder]

There might be something to this. It does seem older models of things are better than newer models of things. So it could be the drive to lower costs and increase profits are causing this, at the appliance, car, etc. level.

It doesn't explain why every couple of years I have another four or six pairs of yet another set of socks, from the same company, but with enough variation that now I have multiple different generations of CK socks that aren't pairable.