Equipment failures and lack of parts

One way to look at it  is...

...can YOU actually BUY a similar truck for $10 K, or even $15K ??

While I'm in a position that I can afford to buy a brand new F150 XLT fancy machine(even a battery powered one) I LIKE my old ride. A '97 F150 XLT with about 70K miles on it. Yes it needs some 'fixin up', but I can toss $1K every year, heck 2K every year for the next 2 decades and STILL be ahead moneywise. Big bonus is NOT having to deal with all that fancy computer KRAP and 'gadgets'.

Yeah I sat 'on the fence' for about  a year, decided to KEEP and fix my truck. You should write down on paper what it needs and costs  in column 'A' then what replacement truck will cost in column 'B'.

So, at 2800 miles per year, you ain't exactly what I would call a typical vehicle conumer.  No wonder ya' got all that money!  What ya' going to do, take it with ya?

Funny thing is, I remember in '97 when guys griped about all the new stuff on vehicles!!!

TBone has pointed out, more than once on this thread, and rightly so, economics 101, market (demand and competition), determines selling price, not cost.

No one manufactures over the road tractors...well Mack may be the exception. Pete, KW, etc assemble trucks from off the shelf parts and/or subassemblies. And, many that are produced are to customer specs. That may explain, at least in part, the spaghetti bowl of wires and cables in new trucks. The CAN BUS does save weight/cost on the passenger vehicle fleet, results may vary elsewhere.

A lot of what we see on new vehicles that add cost and complexity, air bag, intelligent valve stems, side lights, occupant restraints, daylight headlights, side marker lights, pollution controls, right side mirrors, etc result from Federal regulation.

Air-conditioning actually increases fuel milage. So, I think that is why I insist on air-conditioning in my vehilcles.....ya, I'm saving fuel. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

And the concert quality stereo system, well that is a necessary safety system! If I turn that up, I cannot hear all the horns beeping at me, so I avoid potential road rage situations. And the power windows? well, necessary to quicker response to those horn honkers I DO happen to hear! Power steering, and Power brakes....well I think they speak for themselves. Upgraded engine package? The better to intimidate the little foreign 'roller skates' with the fart can exhausts. Oh, and the marker light package? to be seen, of course, and besides when I slide down out of the cab, it makes me look like I am driving a big truck, adds to the swagger! real important

No 'Need' or essential purpose except to over complicate the machines where requires SPECIAL tooling and Access Codes that ONLY the Dealers are allowed (Right to Repair Laws are crushing that), it also delineates Specialty Components ONLY available thru a Dealer or Manufacturer leading to where we are now, Dealer Lots PACKED with Warranty repairs to these elaborate garbage piles that will not run as the electronics will not speak to each other with limited parts resources causing further loadings, cars and light trucks are headed that way, Farm Equipment has been there awhile.