I suspect the problem is a market externality taken advantage of by advertisers. Fashionable identification increasing status. When cars are sold as sexy an old one just says dirty old man. This was most clearly seen in cigarettes. I have frequently overheard people judging others by the brand they smoked. People have been killed for their Nikes. Marketing thrives on repackaging. A lot of what is bought is not the car but brand identity. Its hard work proving you are a go getter, why bother when all you have to do is drive the right brand of car.
Fred Foldvary <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
--- "Gustavo Lacerda (from work)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> By (P1), producing long-lived cars could result in smalller profits (this
> would happen in the form of fewer sales).
>
> Thus the interests of the manufacturer could be in opposition to the
> interests of the consumer (this reluctance to change production would be
> held up by collusion with the other manufacturers). Does this make sense?
No. There would be a profit opportunity for a company to make long-duration
cars, and eventually only those would be produced.
It is technically possible to make cars that deteriorate in one year, but we
don't see these in the market today.
Fred Foldvary
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