Coffeepots and Tires

Heretics in a world of designed obsolescence

Coffee pots and tires stand out as icons of heresy against designed obsolescence.

Coffeepots and tires. All products should be built like coffeepots and tires. Awash in a sea of disposable products, these two durable goods stand out as icons of heresy against designed obsolescence.

I have long been amazed at the punishment automobile tires absorb and yet continue to perform as intended. Although freeways sometimes seem littered with shredded rubber carcasses, for the most part, tires usually last so long we can’t remember when we bought them. Some of us run ’em until they are so thin you can practically see the air inside. Every time a pothole sneaks up and makes my teeth clack when my tires hammer the thing, I marvel that the rubber doesn’t tear and the belt layers don’t come unglued. Every time I fall down on the street and instantly lose flesh, I am awed that my car tires grind against that surface for tens of thousands of miles without complaint. Even most entry-level tires are good for 30,000 miles. Simply amazing.

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Comments

You only get 7 months out of

You only get 7 months out of a mattress?

Oh, the mattress is still

Oh, the mattress is still around three years after purchase, but after about six months it was easy to tell which side was mine and which side was my wife’s because mine had a noticeable depression—and I only weigh 150lbs. And the mattress was not cheap, so…

Great story - full agreement

Ryan

Thanks for a good story with a topic I am very passionate about. As you state later in the article, I am one who is willing to pay more but only if it means I have a durable product and can realize the ROI, and feel good about my planet-keeping responsibilities.

Here's a short story that parallels some of the frustrations of forced obsolecence.

Recently, two of our cell phones received T-Mobile generated texts that indicated that the phones would no longer support wi-fi calling. In fact, as of April 8, T-Mobile will push an update to both phones removing this capability. Being a bit skeptical, I called T-Mobile to confirm the texts were theirs and were true. They were, in fact.

Turns out that despite the fact that I purchased and use T-Mobile phones with wifi calling on a Comcast (Xfinity) wifi router and do not use the T-Mobile cell network when at home, T-Mobile reserved the right to remove features from their locked phones. They were quick to make offers to upgrade the phones, you betcha.

My engineering background understands the challenges of providing software updates to hardware that has numerous models, versions and revisions. The regression testing the cellular providers are burdened with must be an enormous undertaking. That said, I still don't understand why they would remove a feature that forces users to consume more of their available network bandwidth. We have unlimited calling minutes, and great cell signal where we live. There will be no real affect to us, as users, since we will simply switch over to the cell network.

I think we'll continue to get good use out of a 10 year old Blackberry Bold, and a cheap Samsung Android that is 8 years old.

Thanks

Chris

Ya, don't get me started on

Ya, don't get me started on cell phones

takes a licking and keeps on .......never-mind.

My parents purchased a portable dishwasher when I was born. 25 years later a part went out and a replacement part was not available otherwise it would probably have continued working for another 25.

Cars are just as bad if not worse they are intentionally over complicated to force you into the shop for service and repairs.

Light bulbs now have a longer service life then most major electronics (Head scratch). remember the saying “I have _____ older then you!” maybe somday we can use more then underwear, socks, and coffee pots to fill in the blank.