Gel, Using tires as an example, you're not factoring in among other things research and development.. how can we build a tire that will last eight years?
It's a different rubber compound, a different tread design, different internal belt design and composition. It won't cost the same as a bottom line cheap tire to produce. The markup (read profit) on a bottom line product is much more than a premium product. Because it's made of cheaper materials, with less thought put into the design, and they wear out faster. Tires also have one unique facet to the market... traction, in order to create optimum traction you need a softer rubber compound, softer rubber wears out much faster than a harder compound.. thus high performance Z-rated tires wear out as fast if not faster than the bottom line cheaper ones.. but they only sell a fraction of the amount that they sell with the cheaper tires. Business, especially in the automotive market is a very weird thing. -----Original Message----- From: Vivec [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2009 12:06 PM To: cf-community Subject: Re: The Story of Stuff - Our Consumer based economy, the third world, and the problems it causes Again, you're missing the point. You have the false assumption that the cost to produce the tire and sell it at 50USD is higher than the cost to produce the tire that lasts 8 years. For the concept that we are referring to with planned obsolescence : It isn't. There is no additional cost to the manufacturer that would require an increase in cost to the consumer of 500% to make the tire last 8 years. That's the point that these groups are trying to bring across, the reason the tire does not last longer is simply Greed. The problem with that is that the planet cannot sustain it. Not some hippie, tree hugger reason. It can all be brought back to MONEY. So take the economic meltdown we just experienced, and shift it ten, twenty years into the future and magnify it ten times. Think of the entire United States buckling under the death of its youth, spiraling cancer and heart disease rates and being forced to fight wars in several countries due to dwindling natural resources. Wars which it cannot sustain. That is the problem that true capitalists are seeing. This method of manufacture, distribution and disposal is creating an unsustainable bubble that will crash all our investments. 2009/11/22 Larry C. Lyons <[email protected]>: > > That said, what would you rather spend, $50 for a new tire each year > or $300 for a tire that lasts 8 years. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Want to reach the ColdFusion community with something they want? Let them know on the House of Fusion mailing lists Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:308241 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
