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A long time ago I read a Science Fiction short story about a society where everything was unrepairable, throwaway and came with expiry dates. Does not seem too

A long time ago I read a Science Fiction short story about a society where everything was unrepairable, throwaway and came with expiry dates. Does not seem too much like Science Fiction nowadays... EDIT: I wonder if anyone might remember the name of the story: The basic plot is a business man living in a throwaway society manages to convince a dying man to sell him his personally developed car. A car that has been built to last for decades. The business man eventually succeeds by promising to respect the philosophy of the dying man and the manufacturing of machines built to last. As he is driving the magnificent car away he starts thinking of the "improvements" he will make. That loud analogue clock on the dashboard could be replaced by a digital clock and that gear lever knob that could be made from a modern plastic....

teddyh 9y ago
You could always ask at https://scifi.stackexchange.com/ https://scifi.stackexchange.com/ and tag your question “story-identification”. It isn’t your story, but I am reminded of Philip K. Dick’s Pay for the Printer from 1956: https://web.archive.org/web/20150509063736/http://www.american-buddha.com/dick.phildickreader.18.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20150509063736/http://www.americ...
rasz 9y ago
Dont know that particular one, but Janusz A. Zajdel (one of the best Polish sf writers, up there with Lem of Solaris fame) wrote a short story about total planned obsolescence society "...et in pulverem reverteri" (published in https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7539053-ogon-diab-a https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7539053-ogon-diab-a ) You can read it thru google translate if you are brave enough :) https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://zajdel.dzaba.com/zajdel/etin.htm https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://... TLDR: Someone invents a catalyst able to revert any product back to dust after precisely set lifetime, every country adopts it to ensure steady employment across whole planet. Pants? 3 monts, wrist watch? 1 year, car? 2 years, etc. Can you guess what could and did go wrong? ;)
Dylan16807 9y ago
That seems like somewhat of a weak ending, because there's no reason digital clocks and plastic gear levers can't also last for decades. Also I'll link a sort of inverse to that tale: http://www.eldritchpress.org/owh/shay.html#line01 http://www.eldritchpress.org/owh/shay.html#line01
- SeanDav 9y ago
  > "That seems like somewhat of a weak ending, .. " I hardly think I gave the story justice, since it is based on my memory from something like 20 years ago or more and I am sure I am misremembering the specifics. But to address the points that were raised: It is a convertible and plastic does not do well in the sun. Then next year the company decides that they can save 50% on manufacturing cost by using a cheaper and thinner plastic, which would only last 10 years, rather than the decades of the alloy it replaced originally, but that is more than enough time for any car. Then soon after that the company decides that 10 years is still too long and they can save even more by..... First a digital clock, then a digital clock that gets wifi updates, then a digital clock that tracks and transmits your locations, then a digital clock that won't work unless the company sends a heartbeat code, then...you get the idea...it is a slippery slope.
- b5 9y ago
  I've read the story, but frustratingly can't remember its title or who wrote it. The ending works well because everything in the car is handmade and overengineered, and the "improvements" are all cost-saving measures. In doing so, he ends up making the car nothing like the original and nearly the same as the cars the maker was reacting to.

teddyh 9y ago

You could always ask at https://scifi.stackexchange.com/ https://scifi.stackexchange.com/ and tag your question “story-identification”. It isn’t your story, but I am reminded of Philip K. Dick’s Pay for the Printer from 1956: https://web.archive.org/web/20150509063736/http://www.american-buddha.com/dick.phildickreader.18.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20150509063736/http://www.americ...

rasz 9y ago

Dont know that particular one, but Janusz A. Zajdel (one of the best Polish sf writers, up there with Lem of Solaris fame) wrote a short story about total planned obsolescence society "...et in pulverem reverteri" (published in https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7539053-ogon-diab-a https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7539053-ogon-diab-a ) You can read it thru google translate if you are brave enough :) https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://zajdel.dzaba.com/zajdel/etin.htm https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=http://... TLDR: Someone invents a catalyst able to revert any product back to dust after precisely set lifetime, every country adopts it to ensure steady employment across whole planet. Pants? 3 monts, wrist watch? 1 year, car? 2 years, etc. Can you guess what could and did go wrong? ;)

Dylan16807 9y ago

That seems like somewhat of a weak ending, because there's no reason digital clocks and plastic gear levers can't also last for decades. Also I'll link a sort of inverse to that tale: http://www.eldritchpress.org/owh/shay.html#line01 http://www.eldritchpress.org/owh/shay.html#line01

SeanDav 9y ago
> "That seems like somewhat of a weak ending, .. " I hardly think I gave the story justice, since it is based on my memory from something like 20 years ago or more and I am sure I am misremembering the specifics. But to address the points that were raised: It is a convertible and plastic does not do well in the sun. Then next year the company decides that they can save 50% on manufacturing cost by using a cheaper and thinner plastic, which would only last 10 years, rather than the decades of the alloy it replaced originally, but that is more than enough time for any car. Then soon after that the company decides that 10 years is still too long and they can save even more by..... First a digital clock, then a digital clock that gets wifi updates, then a digital clock that tracks and transmits your locations, then a digital clock that won't work unless the company sends a heartbeat code, then...you get the idea...it is a slippery slope.
b5 9y ago
I've read the story, but frustratingly can't remember its title or who wrote it. The ending works well because everything in the car is handmade and overengineered, and the "improvements" are all cost-saving measures. In doing so, he ends up making the car nothing like the original and nearly the same as the cars the maker was reacting to.