I must say that I agree with the general statements about the trends in quality. But to defend MBZ their cars have been slightly overbuilt in the past years. The contacts on my 123 are machined and soldered, ( and I think silver plated). While this is excelent for durability, it requires a more complex assembly technique. The plugs themself are also of a 2 piece design, yet aother additional part to buy and assemble.
Don't get me wrong, I love my 123 even though it is somewhat sluggish. Not to mention I appreaciate the fact that it is as dependable as a piece of military hardware. And if it is taken care of properly will survive me.
That said and done:
The trend I notice everyday is: get as much money as possible and do not worry about the customer or the reliability or what effect this has.
As much as I hate to say it, I think this is the sign of the times.

My cars are as follows:
1978 300D a.k.a. "das brick" (orange color )
1961 190-b ( long term project )
1984 Nissan 300zx turbo (shorter term project, this car will be a screamer)
I am looking forward to getting a 201 or 124 in the future, even though they will be slower then the Z.

As for my watches....
I like "old school junk" as my friend calls them.
So far I have 3 watches, but will have to look up some of the details later...

1) Leonidas, simple, elegant, and used to be my grandfathers.
2) don't remember the make, but it was made in the 70's in Switzerland. It has a chrono and a 30 minute stop watch dial. My daily choice.
3) A German artilery gunners watch from WWII. It is Swiss and also has a chrono and a 30 min. stopwatch.

I also have a Waltham traveler clock. It was made in the late 1800 or early 1900. It is in a wooden case that folds open. This one stays at home.