From the article: > Although extreme, Turkey proves one thing. Today's cars last so long that if bad times happen consumers can simply stop buying new ones and

From the article: > Although extreme, Turkey proves one thing. Today's cars last so long that if bad times happen consumers can simply stop buying new ones and get along just fine with their old ones. Is this true? Despite (or perhaps because of) the many improvements in technology, cars are also becoming more complex. Certainly what I've seen is that you can't do anything without an expensive diagnostics tool anymore, and it's harder to get by with simple fixes an average car owner might be able to do. For example, I drive a 20 year old VW whose windshield wipers recently decided to keep going non-stop. Diagnosis was simple: the clicking relay unit under the steering wheel was malfunctioning. Repair was even simpler: popping open the relay revealed the simplest, most organised piece of electronics I've ever seen, and it was clear that all that was necessary was to clean the contacts on one of the relays and pop it back in the car. Job done. Compare that to a modern car in 20 years, where any similar problem will likely require an electrical engineering degree to even diagnose, if planned obsolescence hasn't done its work by then.