Bingo! Everyone thinks they're so smart coming to these threads to shout about survivorship bias, but much of modern quality, and lack thereof, comes from cutting 1,000 tiny corners over time.

People now days gravitate towards the cheaper option. How is a company to stay in business when their competitors are making shit products, yet outselling them because consumers want cheap?

When there were only a couple of options for a refrigerator, everyone knew how those very few options ranked in quality. Appliances were far more expensive when I was a kid. In 1975, a fridge was $1,800 to $3,700 (adjusted for inflation). You asked friends, neighbors, coworkers, other parishioners, what they thought, because that shit better last! Generally speaking, more expensive was better. Now I have no clue what manufacturers are still quality, lost their way or are new and great quality. Lowes.com has over 700 models listed.