> engineers design cars they don't have to work on or repair, and will never drive.

Because that's what they're told to do. Very few engineers revel in making worse products for business reasons.

Lost me at cars. Cars used to be horrible. They’ve never been better.

I'm not sure. I was joking with a friend recently, telling him that he should have asked the seller in the salon for a real car, not his Mercedes that talks and turns on some settings that annoy him and he turns off again and again at every engine start. My mute and semi-dumb Citroen is a better car on that metric.

Cars have never been more reliable and safer, however "better" is a woefully underspecified and subjective thing.

Things I don't like about modern cars: they all look the same, crappy capacitive controls and touchscreens inside the car, constant tracking mandated by law, much harder to work on the car if you are a car enthusiast.

To me, a classic car from the 80s, or even early 90s is a far nicer vehicle to be in and drive, and provides a far better subjective experience, both in and out of the car, so in a sense, modern cars are "worse" for me.

> constant tracking mandated by law

I hate this. What is the year that this started?

YMMV (heh) depending on make and model, but as a rough guide, mid 2010s is when cellular modems and automotive telemetry started to become commonplace

The good news is that generation uses obsolete cellular modems that thanks to the 3G sunset can no longer connect to current networks.

As a kid from that era, I disagree.

> To me, a classic car from the 80s, or even early 90s is a far nicer vehicle to be in and drive, and provides a far better subjective experience, both in and out of the car, so in a sense, modern cars are "worse" for me.

Just to get this point out of the way: I believe that you are talking about enthuiast cars and not the the Oldsmobile, Taurus, and Chevy Calvaliers I rode around in as a kid.

If you are talking about a "fun-looking car", and you miss the 3-series from the 90's vs those today, buy a mini cooper. That's basically what they are now.

If you want to give up safety, reliability, affordabilty, and fuel efficency, you can still buy a 911. Move up the price range and you can buy Lambos and Masseratis.

Modern cars are safer in a crash and much more efficient. However the experience of sitting inside one, the everyday experience of using one is worse in nearly every single respect except for how much you pay at the gas station. And crash safety is the sort of advantage you hope to never experience.

> I have a pair of 5 year old redwing boots...

Ha! I have a 45 year old pair of Red Wing Pecos boots that's been resoled twice. Now just use them for yard work, though.

Have you gotten your Redwings resoled? Assuming you live in a 1st world country, how much did that cost? How much did you pay for the pair of Redwings?

Goodyear welted soles are expensive. You can buy 6 pairs of workboots from Walmart or hiking shoes from Decathlon at the same price. Resoling welted shoes cost more than double compared to going to buying a new pair of cheap Timberlands on discount.

What is this junk? I can't think of any I have bought or needed in many years?

Isn't the onus just as much on us as consumers?