What a name!
“If the reading is accurate, it must be a fluke!”
Wel, mornig potst. pree=cofey; cam be rige with Miss Spelings and tipows.
Reading a car blog earlier today made me think of one – Checker taxicabs, and the Checker Marathon (the consumer version). Whether Checkers actually were more durable than regular American cars of the day might be debatable (although one couple in Eugene, Oregon bought one in 1967 and was still driving it at least until 2020), but they were marketed on the idea that they were designed specifically for taxi work, and therefore longer lasting than other cars.
I bought a set or Revereware pans in the mid 1970s. They lasted a good long while. I would probably still be using them but I wanted a heavier set. The replacements (I think Costco’s brand) is going strong after ten or more years of service.
I have some Corningware casserole dishes that still work great. One was a wedding present more than 45 years ago. Others we inherited so I’m not sure how old they are, but would guess more than a half century.
My All-American canner doesn’t get a whole lot of use, but it’s built so well that as long as I don’t drop it, it will be pressure canning soups for years to come
At risk of revealing my true identity, I resent that post. 
I’m gonna respectfully disagree here. WHEN the Snap-On breaks, you need to corner the guy in the truck by parking behind him and listening to him bullshit you why the screwdriver isn’t covered, blah blah blah, or how the ratchet needs ‘maintainence’ (really? I need tools to work on my tools???) and finally blowing you off completely because you don’t have “Proof of Purchase” from 40 years ago.
Fuck Snap-On. My giant ratchet makes a good hammer now, since it won’t actually ratchet anymore.
This is an a-pawl-ing story.
Anecdotally, many years ago, a friend who had been a mechanic said that he used Craftsman tools because the Snap-On guy wouldn’t replace tools that had been abused. When his Craftsman tools broke, he’d go to Sears and find “Susie New-Hire” to replace them.
In my experience, anything I broke that was Craftsman (and there weren’t that many) were totally covered, no questions. Even if I had used the screwdriver as a chisel, or the socket extension as a prybar.
For household appliances, the German brand Miele stands out. Very expensive, but lasts forever.
Somebody upthread had a bad vacuum experience a ways back, but … totally agree with you.
At this point, we ‘only’ have their washer and dryer, but I have every reason to believe that a) I’ll have to will them to somebody, and b) they could withstand a direct hit from a TOW missile.
Googling, though, a Miele washing machine lists for $1,200-2,100, or twice the typical American brands. Sure it may last “forever” but one can buy two lesser washers for the same money. Is it worth it?
These are always difficult and personal decisions to make. For people who are at the bills-or-pills place, I wouldn’t advocate they spend double the money on a set of laundry machines.
But it’s a values thing for my wife and me. I don’t like shopping. I don’t like dealing with things breaking. The price of this kind of repair (or any kind of repair) has been rising faster than inflation.
And I’m not big on putting endless leviathan stuff into the landfill if/when I can avoid it. Sometimes I just imagine where it all goes when we inevitably pitch it all.
People tell me that they believe the Miele marketing – that their machines take ‘better care’ of your clothing (eg, the dryer – unless you specify otherwise – gets clothes something like 85% dry; theory being: it’s in the last 15% of drying that the wear and tear really occurs).
Nothing’s ever ‘damp’ so that you can’t fold it and put it away, but it’s tactilely not bone dry.
On an absolute basis, our Miele machines do a very good job (as did our past Miele appliances) and give us no trouble whatsoever.
Miele are designed to last 20 years.
Their appliances are also pretty advanced. They can be networked, there are apps for smartphones and APIs for home automation systems. If that floats your boat.
You pay a lot, but you get a lot of mileage.
I’m struggling to come up with a use case for putting my washer and dryer on my network.
In the UK, Henry hoovers are the archetype of this for electrical household goods.
Practically everyone I know has owned a Henry at some point, or at least their landlord did. They’re used in pubs, care homes, on building sites, at Downing St, everywhere. They appear to never break down. They are the hoovers that can suck up socks with barely a complaint, then you just lift his hat and take out the sock, and Henry goes back to work.
The gradual introduction of Henry to everyone’s lives was also done without any advertising at all. There’s been merchandising in the past few years, but I’m not sure much of it is actually anything to do with the actual Henry company.
I have an Electrolux vacuum (or “Hoover”) that I got after my mom passed away. I don’t use it very often because it’s so heavy. But if I did, I don’t think I could wear it out.
Once upon a time, Kirby vacuums had a reputation for their longevity. I’d hazard a guess that a majority of people under 30 have never heard of them even though they’re still in business.
The is a trend towards home automation. It can be strangely addictive. Having an app to monitor and control central heating and lighting is useful. Then you start wondering what the refrigerator is doing, whether it is the right temperature. Then that washing machine and it’s mysterious programs and cycles. Smart appliances are now a thing and the they usually come with an app and some ‘cloud’ subscription service to tell you how much electricity everything uses and simplify the absurd number of features appliances have these days.
I blame lockdown and the race by corporations to collect as much personal data on you as possible for their own neferious purposes.
Where this will end, I have my worries. Your appliances could get out of control and turn on you. I am reminded of the trouble poor Julie Christie had with her home automation in ‘The Demon Seed’….
I’ve got a Henry Hoover vacuum cleaner. I don’t exactly remember where it came from, I think maybe I inherited it. I’ve had it for decades.
It is built like a tank and quite heavy. It is just a metal bucket with a powerful electric motor in the lid and a hose. It is simple, there is not a lot to go wrong. That is maybe the reason for its reliability.
I, for one, welcome our new home appliance overlords.