What the study doesn't shoe is disturbing to me...where the majority of the steel comes from.

As a tool maker for almost 25 years, I have witnessed a degradation in the quality of the steel on the market in the last 15 years. Certain steels, alloys if you will, such as D2 and A2 (common tool steels) used to remain quite stable during the heat treating process (a process which hardens tool steels for different uses). When I started in this trade, you could guarantee that certain steels would expand or shrink a certain percentage during this process, therefore it was necessary to have additional stock left on before heat treating, but no more than .010". Not anymore...many times it changes between distrubitors...some will grow and others will shrink as much as .030", and we are talking about the same D2 which is supposed to be industry standard.

Cheaper steels have entered the market from China that are not made to the same stringent standards that it once was.

Want proof? Think of the original Toyotas versus the other cars from back in the 1970's and 1980's...they rusted away within a matter of a few years, where the other vehicles lasted much longer.

It all boils down to this question...Where did the steel come from?

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles