Monday, March 07, 2005

Technology as Marketing Follow Up

Frivolous technology that's used as a marketing tool results in an Arm's Race of Technology as manufacturers try to out-do their competitors. We consumers encounter expensive, feature-bloated products instead of the basic, trusty, inexpensive things we've grown up with. It may be that eBay will turn out to be a Luddite's best friend. Some of those quaint, clever gadgets we're so familar with are no longer made. Expect to see eBay affiliates opening brick-and-mortar shops soon.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, when Toyota commercials say things like "Don't you wish Toyota made more stuff?" I scream "NO! Stick with your cars, you make good cars!!!" Yeesh. Scares me, it does.

~Tirsden

Author said...

I'm glad you mentioned Toyota. It reinforces the "they don't make it anymore" idea.

My first car was a Corolla hatchback. After driving it for about ten years, I got into a collision. I was thinking to buy a new car. I really wanted another Toyota hatchback, but they weren't making the Toyota as a hatchback. I would've even considered a station wagon. No dice. The closest thing was the Paseo, which I wasn't too keen on.

After looking briefly at used cars, I paid $2000 to get the ten-year-old, low-mileage car road-worthy. (Can I get extra points for all the hyphens I used in that previous sentence?) I drove it another ten years before finally selling it to another engineer for $5. (It needed a lot of work.)

Anonymous said...

LOL. Hey, $2k for five years of driving isn't bad. Considering you still had the kind of car you wanted. I think my brother sold the old family stationwagon (Toyota, yup!) for around $20. Yeah... "needed a lot of work" is how I see a lot of Toyotas end up after years and years of happy driving. My first and only car was a Toyota, and one year older than me when I bought it. Rust issues, lack of power, a strange noise issue at high speeds or wet weather, the thing died about two years later when the engine siezed up. But it was worth the $700 I paid for it.

Cars are funny. But I don't have a licence anymore (my choice) so I really don't care. ^_^ Altho I wouldn't mind going for a ride in a Viper someday. >D

Anonymous said...

*makes a note to remember to sign her comments*

~Tirsden