> Do we even know if there was a degradation between a 1960 ford and 1985, or is it because the Japanese and German automakers raised our standards? I know bec

> Do we even know if there was a degradation between a 1960 ford and 1985, or is it because the Japanese and German automakers raised our standards? I know because I've driven cars from both eras. GM and Ford cars from the late 50s required a lot of maintenance by modern standards and they guzzled gas and they would kill you if you had a crash in one. But they were built like battle tanks: Lots of steel; very little plastic. By the end of the 1970s, US cars were built mostly out of plastic. The issue was not that they required more maintenance. The issue was that they fell to pieces on the highway. If you left one sitting in the sun for a year, it would turn into dust. They were utter, unrepairable crap.