Re: Haters of 2-strokes

[49hiawatha]

Mini-history. Planned Obsolescence. Back in 1932/3 there were efforts to encourage the Federal Government to mandate the useful "life" of products. The thinking was that the Depression could be beaten by making more products. WWII solved that. However, our own OMC designer Brooks Stevens, Ralph’s buddy in 1954 gave a talk and ran with the need to constantly upgrade design and stuff, forcing people to desire the new, be the first on the block. It worked. Next came Vance Packard, an established social critic and wrote the 1960 Waste Makers. He blew the whistle on this practice. there was a stutter but consumerism was in. Go, go, go! Look at the craze of basketball shoes. Cabbage Patch…Microsoft;s forced up grades, XP, 7, 8, and 10s…Look at the groupie crazed techies with the new stuff. Gotta have it. They did that with motors/boats.cars…toy, clothing…everything- Status!