Quote:
Originally posted by placo1
My dad use to tell me stories about his late 60's beetle that never had problems and how much he abused the thing, maybe that's where the reputation mumbo jumbo started? 
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Not referring to you at all placo1, but I really hate when folks remember a bygone era of automotive simplicity and then compare declining quality to present-day circumstances...
We ALL remember the venerable old Beetle and it's reputation for reliability and solid build...sure! The engine was a marvel of simplicity! There were only about five components that could possibly fail on the motor!
But what about the rusting problems that seem all but vanished in today's cars? Those old VWs developed a reputation for poor cabin heat simply because the heater channels were exposed to the environment and rusted prematurely, thus sending the warm air out into the street!
Lets not EVEN discuss handling in those things!
They improved a bit when VW went to independent rear suspension instead of trailing arms.
But when the EPA mandates forced VW to retrofit smog handling devices into the simple motor, that's when the Bug became problematic...the retrictive emissions equipment hampered the already anemic performance, while the fuel injection problems proved knotty and expensive to fix. So was the demise of the old Bug.
Add ABS, SRS, and a host of other present-day technology, and the rest is clear...technology is complicated, and no manufacturer has it down pat (except for the Asians).