Are there products/goods that, when they first came out, were not that good in terms of quality, but over time have gotten noticeably much better?

“New and improved” is just another marketing effect that is for the most part completely useless.

@GabrielsLamb Yes, companies like to advertise that, but based on your personal experience, are there any goods/products you have used that have improved a lot since they first came out? Things tangible I mean.

I personally think the quality of automobiles has improved over the past two decades. The cycle of planned obsolesence seems to have lengthened. I’m painting a broad stroke with this, and some have improved more than others.

Microsoft Windows has actually improved; and I thought I was going to die of old age before that happened ;-)

Computers.

Funny, I was just thinking about the ways that computers and cars have gotten worse, though in many ways they have gotten better.

Firearms didn’t start out very well.

Radios.

Lead pipes turned out to be mistake.

Asbestos was not good for insulation.

I think the issue gets confused by specific bad designs and trends as opposed to overall improvements… which are really just new features and designs that aren’t bad.

Apple products? Or were they always good? I do know they made a big comeback with the ipod, and have been growing dramatically ever since.

Internet Access – when Internet Access became available to residential users about 20 years ago, it was email and newsgroups being accessed by a 9.6 or 14.4 kbps modem, this got continually better with faster modem, isdn, cable and dsl, currently I guess speeds range from 1 to 50 mbit, so this is a factor 1000s
(you may argue that this is not a quality factor, rather a limitation)

@alexlehm Yes, you did bring to mind internet websites- most top websites started as crap, but became of higher quality as they held on through the years

@robdamel actually some of the apple products were pretty bad, e.g. there was a motorola itunes phone in 2005 that was supposed to be a ipod coupled with a mobile phone that was pretty crude, only after apple build the iphone in 2007 this got usable.

Autos.

Average Age of Automobiles in the US

Year/Avg age of autos
1970 5.6
1975 6
1980 6.6
1985 7.6
1990 7.6
1995 8.4
2000 9
2007 9.2
2009 9.4

The reputation enjoyed by the Model 1911 semiautomatic pistol is a result of a hundred years of continuous improvement.

Weed

Cell phones are way better then when they first introduced. I think they were called bag phones and only the rich people could use them with regularity. Having said that I do believe they have plateaued as far as durability generally. It’s a contrast with land line phones that are crap now but the early phones that were in the 60’s were built like tanks. Could actually use one as a weapon.

Japanese cars. I was given the (free) use of a Toyota in the early 70s and swore that I would never drive another Japanese car. My wife eventually bought a used Camry in the early 90s, and I’ve driven nothing else since.

Hyundai cars come to mind immediately. Like old Japanese cars, they used to be laughable pieces of shit, but now they are quite reliable, comfortable, and overall decent.

Ok folks, mostly technological stuff. Great answers. How about foodstuffs and other products?

Spam no longer has that nasty jelly.

The thing is that, aside from technology, there really isn’t much room for improvement on a lot of things. I mean, Kobe beef is Kobe beef, just as it always has been for… geez, eighteen centuries.

@woodcutter So right, man. So right. About the cellphones, of course..

If you splurge a little then I will say chain saws are much better than the ones of yesteryear. We now have super light weight construction which is a boon, trust me when you are working one for an extended time. More sophisticated engines with more power- less mass, better chain designs for safety and kickback protection. The power head is insulated from the controls so there is virtually no felt vibration from the saw. I like the compression release. It helps to get things going.
As a young guy I remember using one of those old top tank McCullocs that was like a Harley Davidson trying to start it, it weighed a ton, was a loud and ungainly machine. Very dangerous by today’s standards. No automatic bar oiler. The things had so much shake you could set one down while idling and it would walk its way across the ground.

@woodcutter I’ve never used a chainsaw, ever in my life, but I’ll take your word for it. Lol. How old are you?

Well I’m too damn young to feel like i do, probably because I’ve been “mowin’ it too long. In 20 years give or take, there will none of us left. Not necessarily a bad thing.

@woodcutter Let me guess——over 50 but under 70.

Somewhere in there.

@woodcutter Over 50 but under 60.

The Hyundai Elantra, which is now better than the Honda Civic, according to Consumer Reports:

“Following its 2011 redesign the Elantra sedan emerged as our top-Rated small car. It combines nimble handling with a comfortable, well-controlled ride and a neatly laid out, well-equipped interior. The 148-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission deliver solid performance and a very good 29 mpg overall. A six-speed manual is also available. The interior is nice and has decent rear-seat room. Our two major gripes are the low-mounted dash vents and pronounced road noise. The wagon version, the Elantra Touring, remains unchanged. We expect reliability of the sedan to mirror the above average record of the previous Elantra.”