Glen,
Although the article cites the evil of automakers' "planned obsolescence," cars that lasted twenty years would cause much more environmental destruction than "throw away" cars that are designed for recycling. Retrofitting wouldn't be a viable solution even if the cars were modular.
Until they ran out of money a few years ago, California would buy old cars just to junk them to reduce pollution. I hope that getting my 2005 Prius off the road in favor of something less polluting and less fossil fuel consuming will be important in a few years.
Gunnar
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-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design on behalf of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon 11/26/2007 9:31 AM
> http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/theluddite/2007/11/luddite_1122
>
> there needs to be design for repairability, longevity, timelessness and
> so on.
[snip]
> think about designing for 5 -10 years as a
> design project - with easily replaceable parts? Stuff that looks
> good for the long term - like Frank Lloyd Wright, etc.
|