In the end, manufacturers are selling their cars to ‘new car buyers’. These buyers mostly buy new cars regularly so are only looking for reliable motoring for the length of their ownership (or the length of their lease) - say, 3 to 5 years - plus enough remaining reliability to preserve a reasonable residual value. The people who really care about longer term reliability are the secondhand car buyers, but they are essentially picking over the bones of the new car market (and are not a driving influence on the new car market or new car design parameters).
Good point. It's an angle I'm not used to looking at. I've always been a used car buyer so I can't relate to being a new car buyer as I have recycling right at my core philosophy - not just cars but everything practicable.
Also you say, "[Used car buyers].... are not a driving influence ... on new car design parameters." However I would tend to disagree with just that point only. As soon as a car is bought it becomes "used", both literally and in the market. It is the feedback received from the new AND used buyers that often determines how something is designed, redesigned, improved/deleted, added etc. As a model will inherently stay for quite a number of years with only minor changes here and there between successive years but feedback from owners (whether new or used) is often essential in directing the company in what to do or not to do bewteen same model years
It's probably true that most car manufacturers don't give a rat's ar$e about used car buyers - however it's those very people that either carry the flag for that make/model or cause it to have a bad name if it turns out to be unreliable to many people. Especially these days when social media ensures that an infinitely greater number of people know about things like this and in a very short time - compared to just 20 years ago.
How many times has it occurred over the decades that the motoring press has greatly praised a manufacturer's new model, but it quickly turned into a lemon with so many defects occurring quite quickly? Something a new car tester could never foresee. A good example of this is the TE Cortina. It looked so hot at first but after a few years came to have a very bad name when poor quality build and design faults became apparent. The hugely improved TF Cortina was actually a great car, which the TE should have been, but by then it was too late and the buying public were a bit reluctant after the TE's tales of woe.
Similar thing happened with the Rover SD1 in the UK. A striking car (Car of the Year in Europe) but after just a few months the poor design and build in many areas left a lemon taste in many buyers' mouths. Same as the Leyland P76 in Australia. There's probably just as many Japanese/Asian cars like over the years as well. (the horrible Datsun 120Y and unpopular 280ZX come to mind). But anyway, I digress...
As for the fridges - yes I know well enough how inefficient the old ones are. However look at this way: I've had it for 35 years (bought second hand for $50 hahaaha). It's needed two globes and one magnetic door seal set. Plus some home handyman fixing of shelf. How long will a new fridge last? Often only 7-10 years. So that's between 3 and 5 new fridges in that period, with all the associated costs/hassles of choosing, buying, moving it, disposing of and delivering/ installing, PLUS the environmental footprint for each new one made and being disposed of.
The extra costs involved for those 3-5 fridges would far outweigh the electricity costs that only I have to bear. So I am more than happy to keep going with it. BTW, I have two washing machines and one is mid 80s and the other mid 70s !! Both Hoovers, both still going, albeit with the odd repair needed every 10-12 years or so.
This practice, along with old cars' restoration and use is the ultimate form of recycling as far as I'm concerned. Their environmental footprints (excuse the cliche) happened long ago.